Rockets, Rockets Everywhere, and Two Lunar Rovers

Monday was a very busy day for commercial space launch companies, and both coasts saw some launch action this week.

In the early morning hours Monday, SpaceX lofted another 27 Starlink satellites into orbit just before 2:00 am. The launch marked a milestone for the booster that was used. It was the 25th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and now 21 Starlink missions.

Later Monday morning, ULA launched the second batch of satellites for Project Kuiper from Launch Complex 41 just before 7:00 am. There are six remaining Kuiper missions on the Atlas V rocket, building up to 38 high-cadence, rapid fire launches on the next-generation Vulcan rocket. ULA will deliver more than half of the Project Kuiper constellation’s 3,200 satellites, through what is recognized as the world’s largest commercial launch agreement.

The action then shifted to the west coast, where SpaceX launched the Transporter-14 mission fron Vandenberg Space Force Base carrying 70 payloads. Those included cubesats, microsats, re-entry capsules, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying three of those payloads to be deployed at a later time. It was the 26th flight for this particular Falcon 9 booster.

But the international crew of the Ax-4 mission had to wait an additional day before beginning their trip to the International Space Station. Axiom-4 had been scheduled for launch earlier this month, but was delayed first by a technical issue with the booster for the mission, and later by a leak in the Russian module of the ISS. They finally got off the ground and on their way to orbit early in the morning on Tuesday. The Ax-4 crew will be aboard the ISS for as long as two weeks carrying out more than 60 scientific experiments.

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In Washington, the FAA has authorized Varda Space to conduct multiple operations of its Winnebago reentry capsule until its current license expires in 2029. Enabling as many missions as an operator wants under one license is a key streamlining element of the Part 450 commercial space launch and reentry licensing rule.

Varda is the first reentry vehicle operator to take full advantage of this feature of the Part 450 rule. As a result of this action, Varda can ramp up its operations confident of regulatory authorization and will have reduced administrative costs. The FAA can focus more on the licensing needs of other launch and reentry operators and bring on new entrants.

The latest Varda mission, W4, launched into orbit aboard the Transporter-14 mission on Monday.

Provided Varda operates under the authorized mission profile and vehicle design, it will no longer need to apply for mission-by-mission license approvals. The FAA encourages other operators to take similar advantage of the benefits that Part 450 offers and has published Advisory Circulars to help operators understand how to succeed in the licensing process.

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Over at the FCC, The Space Bureau has accepted in part for filing an application filed by AST-Science, LLC (AST), known as AST SpaceMobile, for a modification of its license for five satellites. The company also seeks authority to operate a constellation of a total of two hundred forty-eight low-earth orbit non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites.

Specifically, AST requests to operate an additional 243