Welcome to Edition 9.15 of the Rocket Report! The launch I’m most looking forward to in the next few weeks is that of Japan’s Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission. MMX is one of the marquee space science missions launching this year, and it’s set to leave Earth as soon as Monday (US time) aboard a Japanese H3 rocket. The spacecraft will visit Phobos and Deimos, the two asteroid-like moons of Mars, deploying a rover and collecting specimens for return to Earth in 2031. Exploration at its finest.
Reflect Orbital, the startup attempting to offer sunlight on-demand with in-space mirrors, announced the purchase of two launches Wednesday from Indian launcher Skyroot Aerospace, reports Payload Space. One of the launches will use Skyroot’s Vikram-1 rocket, which became the first privately developed Indian rocket to reach orbit in July. The other will fly on an upgraded rocket called the Vikram-1U. Reflect Orbital plans to launch its first satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare next year. The company’s business model involves flying a constellation of some 50,000 mirrors in orbit to beam sunlight to the ground for power generation and illumination. The FCC approved Reflect’s first in-space mirror satellite earlier this year. The company’s selection of India’s Skyroot also shines a light on what satellite operators fear is a coming under-supply of launch capacity in the United States as SpaceX phases out its Falcon 9 rocket in favor of the much larger, but relatively unproven, Starship.
LEAP targets smallsat launch market. A Colorado rocket startup named LEAP is aiming to enter the market for dedicated small-satellite launches in 2028 as growing demand for access to orbit creates new opportunities for smaller rockets, reports Space News. LEAP’s Bighorn rocket is designed for an initial payload capacity of 320 pounds (145 kilograms) to low-Earth orbit, with a first orbital launch slated for 2028. Bighorn is sized for dedicated launch services, with a single-engine booster stage and a kick stage named Cottontail for orbit insertion.
