Rocket Report: China discovers grid fins, NASA acknowledges Starship program

Enlarge / The Electron launch vehicle is ready to soar. (credit: Rocket Lab)

Welcome to Edition 2.09 of the Rocket Report! This week, we've got a few highs but more lows-including small-rocket launch failures in Australia and Japan. We've also got some interesting news about a large reinsurance company backing out of the market after some recent, high-profile aerospace failures.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

China experiments with grid fins. The launch of a Long March 2C from Xichang last week included a first use of grid fins by China, SpaceNews reports. The fins are intended to minimize the threat posed by the spent first stage to populated areas downrange. This two-stage rocket has a lift capacity of 1.25 tons to low-Earth orbit. For this launch, the rocket's interstage section included four grid fins that strikingly resemble those used to guide SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters back to landing areas.

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