Small satellite launch company ABL Space Systems is gearing up for its first-ever launch.
ABL completed an important refueling test with its RS1, which is referred to as the wet dress rehearsal rocket on the pad at the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Alaska’s Kodiak Island this week, the company said.
“All pre-launch operations are complete. We are working with the FAA to complete our launch window,” ABL said announced via Twitter (opens in new tab) on Thursday (September 15), citing the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Related: A History of Rockets
Such updates are relatively rare. ABL doesn’t tweet very often or do much other public self-promotion; it didn’t even tell us what “ABL” stood for. It is clear, however, that the Smallsat startup provider has big plans. (ABL did not respond in a timely manner to an email request to publish this story.)
ABL features a portable ground operations system and launch vehicle, all of which pack into a handful of easy-to-carry shipping containers. The company’s RS1 rocket is capable of delivering up to 1,350 kilograms (2,975 pounds) into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and, thanks to the hyperportability of the entire system, can be launched from almost anywhere in the world with a sufficiently large, flat slab of concrete be used from , accordingly ABL website.
ABL seems to do almost everything in-house. Founded in 2017, the company designs and manufactures most of its own infrastructure and launch materials. Whichever parts ABL outsources, the company keeps a firm grip, writing on its website that “not only our suppliers, but also our sub-suppliers and investors are rigorously audited and audited.”
ABL Space Systems is headquartered in El Segundo, California where much of the design and manufacturing takes place alongside assembly and systems integration. The company operates two facilities in the Mojave Desert – one at Edwards Air Force Base and the other at Mojave Air and Space Port. ABL’s facilities in the Mojave Desert are focused on research and development, engine and equipment testing. ABL also maintains a number of offices in Seattle “to serve customer needs in all regions,” according to the company’s website.
ABL’s RS1 rocket is 26.8 meters tall and is powered by nine of the company’s E2 engines in the first stage and a single E2 in the second. ABL describes the E2 rocket engine as “intentionally boring”. The E2 is partially built using 3D printed Components that ABL manufactures in-house and runs on a select combination of liquid oxygen and either RP-1 or Jet-A, both of which are widely used forms of kerosene fuel. ABL is asking $12 million per RS1 launch.
The upcoming launch – the rocket’s first flight – will be loft two CubeSats called VariSat 1A and VariSat 1A 1B, according to EverydayAstronaut.com (opens in new tab). The duo, owned by Texas-based company OmniTeq, will be launched into polar orbit as part of a demonstration mission “to experiment and gain flight experience with a satellite designed to support HF.” [high frequency] Marine Data Communications,” according to a filing with the US Federal Communications Commission. VariSat 1C launched aboard one SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on May 25 this year.
A successful first launch of ABL’s RS1 rocket will boost confidence in the new launch provider, which has already secured one Contract with Lockheed Martin (opens in new tab) for up to 58 missions by 2029. This jam-packed manifesto aligns with the company’s goal of achieving a “fast, hassle-free future of orbital launches.”
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