The global launch market is in a state of flux, with ULA’s Vulcan Centaur awaiting its first launch. ULA CEO Tory Bruno said simply “Yes” when asked if he was confident Vulcan will launch soon, targeting May with a second launch possible in June.
Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël said after the Vega C failure: “For us it’s been a year of transition and change. We are now focused on a successful return to flight for Vega C.” Rocket Lab’s Richard French said 15 Electron launches are planned for 2023 and highlighted expanding manufacturing for the Electron and Neutron engines.
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SpaceX’s Tom Ochinero said the company is targeting 100 launches in 2023 after a record 61 in 2022: “With three active launchpads, and three separate teams, and a kind of fully mature reusability campaign of refurbishments, everything’s really dialed in at this point.” SpaceX is also exploring reusing boosters up to 25 times.
Blue Origin’s Ariane Cornell highlighted the NASA award for New Glenn to launch the EscaPADE Mars mission and said the company is still closing its New Shepard mishap investigation with the FAA.
Bruno closed with a call for regulation and enforcement of orbital stewardship: “The common space domain is precious to all of us. That’s not the case in the space domain” — noting that unlike ships or planes, space debris stays in the domain. VS
