/sci/ - Science & Math

>>15862522
ULA chief on the Vulcan rocket: “The path to flight one is clear”, Project Kuiper ready for satellite production after successful prototype tests
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https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/11/ula-chief-on-the-vulcan-rocket-the-path-to-flight-one-is-clear/
> United Launch Alliance is closing in on the debut flight of the Vulcan rocket, and it remains on track to fly the vehicle for the first time on December 24.
> During a media roundtable on Wednesday afternoon, the chief executive of United Launch Alliance, Tory Bruno, said, “The path to flight one is clear" for Vulcan. The last major piece of hardware for the rocket, the Centaur V upper stage, arrived at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday. All of the qualification testing necessary for the first flight, including for the upper stage, is complete.
> As its primary payload, the Certification 1 mission will carry a lunar lander built by Astrobotic, which will attempt to make a soft touchdown on the Moon early next year.
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https://spacenews.com/project-kuiper-ready-for-satellite-production-after-successful-prototype-tests/
> TAMPA, Fla. — Commercial Project Kuiper satellites are entering production next month without design changes after two recently launched prototypes aced end-to-end tests, the broadband constellation’s vice president of technology said in an interview.
> KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 successfully demonstrated fiber-like speeds after launching to low Earth orbit last month, Rajeev Badyal told SpaceNews, enabling work to start on more than 3,200 production satellites with similar architecture.
> He said the tests put Amazon’s constellation plans on track to start launches in the first half of 2024, enabling beta services later that year with early partners that include telcos Vodafone and Verizon.