Rocket Report: Iran launches satellite; Artemis II boosters get train ride
Enlarge / All four RS-25 main engines are now installed on the core stage for the Artemis II mission.
Welcome to Edition 6.13 of the Rocket Report! While SpaceX waits for regulatory approval to launch the second full-scale test flight of its Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket, NASA's contractors took two steps forward this week to prepare for the second launch of the government-owned Space Launch System on the Artemis II mission, which will send a team of four astronauts around the far side of the Moon. This launch is still more than a year away. How many Starship test flights will SpaceX launch before Artemis II? Will Blue Origin's New Glenn be flying by then?
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.
Iran has launched a small satellite. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps successfully launched a small satellite named Noor 3 into orbit Wednesday, Reuters reported. This military satellite launched aboard a Qased rocket, a small launch vehicle powered by a liquid-fueled booster stage. The Qased, which means "messenger" in Persian, is reportedly capable of carrying a payload of up to about 100 pounds (45 kilograms) into low-Earth orbit. Publicly available US military tracking data indicated the rocket deployed the Noor 3 satellite into an orbit about 280 miles (450 kilometers) above Earth.