March 23, 2019

Germany Studies Reusable Rockets (Source: Space News)
Germany's space agency is studying a new way to recover and reuse rocket stages. DLR received a $3 million grant from the European Commission for a project called "Formation flight for in-Air Launcher 1st stage Capturing demonstration" or FALcon. That study will examine the feasibility of recovering first stages using wings that glide back toward the Earth after launch. Rather than directly landing back a runway, though, the stage would be captured in the air by a tether from another aircraft, which would then tow it back to the ground. A "rough" road map for the project would allow the technology to be incorporated in a next-generation reusable launch vehicle by the mid-2030s. (3/22)

Roscosmos to Support Soyuz Rockets Aboard Sea Launch (Source: TASS)
Roscosmos will support work to adapt the Soyuz-5 rocket for use by Sea Launch. S7 Space, the new owner of Sea Launch, had previously expressed an interest in using a reusable version of the Soyuz-5 for its oceangoing launch platform, and Roscosmos will provide unspecified support for the development of that version. It's unclear when the Soyuz-5 will be ready for Sea Launch, with the first land-based version of the rocket not expected to fly until at least 2021. Sea Launch has stated it will resume launches using the same Zenit-3SL rocket previously used by the system, but has not given a firm date for resuming those launches. (3/22)

Dream Chaser Moves Closer to Cargo Launches (Source: Boulder Daily Camera)
Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser has passed the latest milestone in its NASA contract to deliver cargo to the ISS. The company said Thursday that it passed Integrated Review Milestone 5, which involved tests of ground systems and the vehicle's flight software. The company said it now expects the first flight of Dream Chaser to the space station to take place in the spring of 2021. (3/21)

Blue Origin is Expanding its Already Massive Rocket Factory at Kennedy Space Center (Source: Florida Today)
Just south of Blue Origin's imposing campus at Kennedy Space Center, an empty patch of land will soon be transformed into a sprawling, technology-laden extension of the aerospace company's existing rocket manufacturing facility.

Labeled as "South Campus" in water management district documents, the 90-acre expansion will connect to the factory at Exploration Park, which is a publicly accessible region just west of KSC's main gate. The two-lane Space Commerce Way winds through the area, connecting other players like satellite company OneWeb, economic development agency Space Florida and the main entrance to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

The south campus will nearly double the size of land Blue Origin already leases from NASA, enabling the Jeff Bezos-led company to establish "programs complimentary to those constructed on the adjacent North Campus," according to the documents. Blue will build 270- and 313-foot variants of New Glenn rockets in the massive blue-and-white factory on the north campus, which will launch no sooner than 2020. (3/22)