Author Topic: Space One - KAIROS small launch vehicle  (Read 44047 times)

Offline PM3

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1475
  • Germany
  • Liked: 1834
  • Likes Given: 1296
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #20 on: 03/04/2020 12:58 pm »
Is there anything known about the configuration of this launcher? Number of stages, engine type, payload capability ...?
"Never, never be afraid of the truth." -- Jim Bridenstine

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2824
  • Liked: 1079
  • Likes Given: 32
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #21 on: 03/05/2020 10:08 pm »
Is there anything known about the configuration of this launcher? Number of stages, engine type, payload capability ...?

Rumor mill is 125Kg SSO, likely 3 solid stages due to heavy flight heritage influence from the SS-520-5 flight. Not clear if third stage will be solid with a fourth final liquid kick stage or if third stage will be liquid, due to parallel work on green propellant thrusters.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39048
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 32358
  • Likes Given: 8025
Space One
« Reply #22 on: 06/17/2020 09:33 am »
This is a Japanese small launch vehicle. Shareholders are Canon Electronics, IHI Aerospace, Shimizu Corporation and Development Bank of Japan. The first three stages are solid with a liquid fourth stage. Mass is 23 t and length is 18 m. Diameter looks to be around 1.5 m. Performance is 150 kg to SSO (500 km) and 240 kg to LEO (300 km, 45°). Launch site is at Tahara.

They had avionics test flights in 2017 and 2018 with a test expected for 2020. Does anyone have any information on these flights? Where they on the Momo flights? First orbital flight is expected next year.

https://www.space-one.co.jp/en/
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline MiqBos

  • Member
  • Posts: 12
  • Catalonia
  • Liked: 23
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #23 on: 06/17/2020 09:17 pm »
Greetings to everyone,

I'm new to this forum and I'm really interesting in small satellites and rockets. Searching what's available online one of Space One's press releases describes the intended configuration of their rocket:

"Configuration: three solid  propellant stages and a  liquid  propellant kick stage, PBS (Post Boost Stage) Overall length: Approx. 18meters Liftoff mass: Approx. 23metric-tons"

The payload envelope diameter will be 1,15 m, that got me thinking that the actual rocket diameter could be around 1,20-1,40 m. So I think that the third solid stage and the PBS could be related to the upper stages of the Epsilon rocket. The first and second stages might be completely new designs. In my opinion it seems more a "miniEpsilon" than a "maxi-SS520".
« Last Edit: 06/17/2020 09:31 pm by MiqBos »

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2824
  • Liked: 1079
  • Likes Given: 32
Re: Space One
« Reply #24 on: 06/17/2020 11:07 pm »
The test flight were the SS-520 ones, specifically one flight failure due to avionics power line vibration cut, and following one which was an avionics reflight success (the SS-520-5 flight).

Canon Electronics Inc. was involved in valve manufacture for a green propellant test by JAXA according to an academic paper, so some sort of HAN propellant probably for the liquid/kick stage?

The first flight is expected after private launchpad construction, so looking at late 2021. There is a rumor of a ground solid rocket motor test this year however.

Looking back over the various renders and physical models of the launch site showing the surrounding terrain, and the press release planned site map, I think the lanchpad will be located beyond the end of a dead end road with a few houses that leads directly to the beach and coast road, based on the angles and bending valley visuals so that the launchpad proper doesn't have line of site with the houses as it's tucked behind the bend in the valley.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/33%C2%B032'38.4%22N+135%C2%B053'22.5%22E/@33.5440045,135.8873946,1773m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d33.544!4d135.8895833

Use the google maps terrain layer to see the valley bend.

Greetings to everyone,

I'm new to this forum and I'm really interesting in small satellites and rockets. Searching what's available online one of Space One's press releases describes the intended configuration of their rocket:

"Configuration: three solid  propellant stages and a  liquid  propellant kick stage, PBS (Post Boost Stage) Overall length: Approx. 18meters Liftoff mass: Approx. 23metric-tons"

The payload envelope diameter will be 1,15 m, that got me thinking that the actual rocket diameter could be around 1,20-1,40 m. So I think that the third solid stage and the PBS could be related to the upper stages of the Epsilon rocket. The first and second stages might be completely new designs. In my opinion it seems more a "miniEpsilon" than a "maxi-SS520".

Welcome to the forum! I think we're all happy anyone joins, but you've arrived bearing good information, so I'm doubly happy to welcome you.

I'm very dubious that a solid-based smallsat launcher has any kind of future in the market, but I like solid rockets, I like Japanese rockets, and I also just think it looks good. I'm rooting for them. Maybe they can find a niche in Japan.
Wait, ∆V? This site will accept the ∆ symbol? How many times have I written out the word "delta" for no reason?

Offline MiqBos

  • Member
  • Posts: 12
  • Catalonia
  • Liked: 23
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #26 on: 06/19/2020 06:27 am »
Hello everyone,

I did find more renders and more images of the "Space Port Kii" that Space One is building in Kushimoto.

Comparing the render to a satellite image we can pinpoint the location of the different buildings. The launchpad is being build just north-west to the road with houses (the properties has been bought by the company), around the coordinates 33,544503, 135,889963.

They are also building a road to the north-west connecting with the highway 42. Close to the main road is where they are going to build the command building at a a safe 1 km distance form the launchpad (around coordinates 33,550978, 135,879590). Translation is not clear but seems to indicate that they will integrate the payloads also in this building.

Construction is well underway, images show that much of the earthworks has been done. But I've also found some news stating that construction works have stopped due tho the pandemic. I'm not sure how it will delay the project or if they are stopped right now.
« Last Edit: 06/19/2020 06:52 am by MiqBos »

Offline MiqBos

  • Member
  • Posts: 12
  • Catalonia
  • Liked: 23
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #27 on: 06/19/2020 06:44 am »
Just a couple of photos of the assembly building and launchpad model.

Offline john smith 19

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10346
  • Everyplaceelse
  • Liked: 2426
  • Likes Given: 13596
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #28 on: 06/19/2020 08:51 am »
I'm very dubious that a solid-based smallsat launcher has any kind of future in the market, but I like solid rockets, I like Japanese rockets, and I also just think it looks good. I'm rooting for them. Maybe they can find a niche in Japan.
Yes. Consider the current Pegasus XL. $40m for 443Kg to LEO.  It's been a while since that launched.

Solids make great weapon systems though.

The only justification for a solid  systems seem to be a) You have in house skills (probably because you're already a defense contractor) b) You plan to stitch a bunch of them from someone else together (as Orbital did) so its the cheap option c)You want to start a covert ICBM programme.

Does Cannon have a division that already builds missiles?
Option b puts your prices at the mercy of your main suppliers
Option C makes some sense if you think that Japan is very worried by North Korean missile and nuclear testing.

Solids only really win for a)Batch production (like for ICBMs) with b) Long delays before or between launches (like ICBM's and other missiles).

Somehow they never work out as cheap as people hope.  :(
MCT ITS BFR SS. The worlds first Methane fueled FFSC engined CFRP SS structure A380 sized aerospaceplane tail sitter capable of Earth & Mars atmospheric flight.First flight to Mars by end of 2022 TBC. T&C apply. Trust nothing. Run your own #s "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof" R. Simberg."Competitve" means cheaper ¬cheap SCramjet proposed 1956. First +ve thrust 2004. US R&D spend to date > $10Bn. #deployed designs. Zero.

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2824
  • Liked: 1079
  • Likes Given: 32

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2824
  • Liked: 1079
  • Likes Given: 32
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #30 on: 06/19/2020 09:19 am »
I'm very dubious that a solid-based smallsat launcher has any kind of future in the market, but I like solid rockets, I like Japanese rockets, and I also just think it looks good. I'm rooting for them. Maybe they can find a niche in Japan.
Yes. Consider the current Pegasus XL. $40m for 443Kg to LEO.  It's been a while since that launched.

Solids make great weapon systems though.

The only justification for a solid  systems seem to be a) You have in house skills (probably because you're already a defense contractor) b) You plan to stitch a bunch of them from someone else together (as Orbital did) so its the cheap option c)You want to start a covert ICBM programme.

Does Cannon have a division that already builds missiles?
Option b puts your prices at the mercy of your main suppliers
Option C makes some sense if you think that Japan is very worried by North Korean missile and nuclear testing.

Solids only really win for a)Batch production (like for ICBMs) with b) Long delays before or between launches (like ICBM's and other missiles).

Somehow they never work out as cheap as people hope.  :(

Option B, as IHI Aerospace is making the solid rocket motor portion. Whether there is back room METI/MoD dealings to sustain the industrial base is a different issue. Epsilon (and now Epsilon S) according to some defense hawk interpretations is an ICBM manufacturing demo program. There were similar murmurs that this rocket could be used as an ASAT launcher, but then the obvious question is where's the payload/seeker/warhead?

Canon Electronics Inc. president had previously stated that they will not produce military systems though. The Canon group does not make missiles, and as far as I am aware don't make (obvious) missile components. There are some people who were formerly employed at IHI Aerospace, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and other defense contractors who are with Canon electronics Inc. now though.

The better question is, with Epsilon S rolling up with 500kg SSO range, that makes the market for a 100-150kg SSO rocket smaller, at least for japanese domestic payloads. Batch SRM production to cut costs requires a fairly large manifest (and to be fair, they allegedly want to launch up to 20 times a year once production is in full swing), but so far no launch manifest has been disclosed that could sustain that. Spaceflight's CEO may have misspoken recently, but he seemed to suggest that Canon Electronics Inc. is starting their own earth observation constellation, and Canon Electronics Inc. themselves do claim CE-SAT-1B is a mass production prototype sat. So if they are launching their own earth observation constellation, that might cover some of the early launch manifest and provide launch reliability proof to get others to ride with them, but they themselves have not announced a constellation.

Offline MiqBos

  • Member
  • Posts: 12
  • Catalonia
  • Liked: 23
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #31 on: 06/19/2020 10:24 am »
and the approximate pad as a link, sadly the overhead imagery hasn't been updated lately

Here's a more recent view:

https://satellites.pro/Japan_map#33.549657,135.880966,15

Where do you think the tracking station might be located? The lodges/camping to the south west of the site appear to be also closed on Google's rather recent Street View (maybe bought by the company?). This area is 1 km away from the launchpad and appears to have clear view of the possible rocket's path. Or maybe it should be on the top of one of the nearby hills?


« Last Edit: 06/19/2020 10:26 am by MiqBos »

Offline russianhalo117

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8749
  • Liked: 4660
  • Likes Given: 768
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #32 on: 06/20/2020 06:28 am »
I'm very dubious that a solid-based smallsat launcher has any kind of future in the market, but I like solid rockets, I like Japanese rockets, and I also just think it looks good. I'm rooting for them. Maybe they can find a niche in Japan.
Yes. Consider the current Pegasus XL. $40m for 443Kg to LEO.  It's been a while since that launched.

Solids make great weapon systems though.

The only justification for a solid  systems seem to be a) You have in house skills (probably because you're already a defense contractor) b) You plan to stitch a bunch of them from someone else together (as Orbital did) so its the cheap option c)You want to start a covert ICBM programme.

Does Cannon have a division that already builds missiles?
Option b puts your prices at the mercy of your main suppliers
Option C makes some sense if you think that Japan is very worried by North Korean missile and nuclear testing.

Solids only really win for a)Batch production (like for ICBMs) with b) Long delays before or between launches (like ICBM's and other missiles).

Somehow they never work out as cheap as people hope.  :(

Option B, as IHI Aerospace is making the solid rocket motor portion. Whether there is back room METI/MoD dealings to sustain the industrial base is a different issue. Epsilon (and now Epsilon S) according to some defense hawk interpretations is an ICBM manufacturing demo program. There were similar murmurs that this rocket could be used as an ASAT launcher, but then the obvious question is where's the payload/seeker/warhead?

Canon Electronics Inc. president had previously stated that they will not produce military systems though. The Canon group does not make missiles, and as far as I am aware don't make (obvious) missile components. There are some people who were formerly employed at IHI Aerospace, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and other defense contractors who are with Canon electronics Inc. now though.

The better question is, with Epsilon S rolling up with 500kg SSO range, that makes the market for a 100-150kg SSO rocket smaller, at least for japanese domestic payloads. Batch SRM production to cut costs requires a fairly large manifest (and to be fair, they allegedly want to launch up to 20 times a year once production is in full swing), but so far no launch manifest has been disclosed that could sustain that. Spaceflight's CEO may have misspoken recently, but he seemed to suggest that Canon Electronics Inc. is starting their own earth observation constellation, and Canon Electronics Inc. themselves do claim CE-SAT-1B is a mass production prototype sat. So if they are launching their own earth observation constellation, that might cover some of the early launch manifest and provide launch reliability proof to get others to ride with them, but they themselves have not announced a constellation.
Epsilon-S is a Joint synergy project with H-3 between IHI and MHI with funding via JAXA. Just as Ariane-6 and Vega-C and the phased upgrade paths. For SRB-3 it will have the most produced.

I consider Space One to be an orbital version of a JCR/TT-500A or TR-1 class launcher at minimum.

Offline gosnold

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 571
  • Liked: 240
  • Likes Given: 2113
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #33 on: 06/21/2020 01:46 pm »
Spaceflight's CEO may have misspoken recently, but he seemed to suggest that Canon Electronics Inc. is starting their own earth observation constellation, and Canon Electronics Inc. themselves do claim CE-SAT-1B is a mass production prototype sat. So if they are launching their own earth observation constellation, that might cover some of the early launch manifest and provide launch reliability proof to get others to ride with them, but they themselves have not announced a constellation.

For an observation constellation, you don't want a 150kg-class vehicle, you want to launch a full plane each time, that's cheaper. So something like Epsilon would make a lot more sense once past the prototype stage.

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2824
  • Liked: 1079
  • Likes Given: 32
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #34 on: 06/22/2020 01:32 am »
and the approximate pad as a link, sadly the overhead imagery hasn't been updated lately

Here's a more recent view:

https://satellites.pro/Japan_map#33.549657,135.880966,15

Where do you think the tracking station might be located? The lodges/camping to the south west of the site appear to be also closed on Google's rather recent Street View (maybe bought by the company?). This area is 1 km away from the launchpad and appears to have clear view of the possible rocket's path. Or maybe it should be on the top of one of the nearby hills?

https://satellites.pro/Japan_map#33.544681,135.889938,19 pretty clearly shows the water retention pond from the models, but that's just earthmoving. The pad hill hasn't been leveled yet. Shimizu construction had put a national stop to projects due to COVID-19, though notably after several people got infected (I think an employee died?) but with all national restrictions released, I imagine they'll be back to digging again.

The camping lodge probably wouldn't have line of sight to the pad due to elevation and the valley protecting the launchpad. Everything along the south access road with the farm houses is not safe though (but previous renders show them not present so assume scheduled for demolition).

There's been no recent info about tracking station emplacement however. It would help to be on top of a ridgeline to have maximum line of sight to the horizon, unless they are going to depend on JAXA tracking facilities elsewhere.

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2824
  • Liked: 1079
  • Likes Given: 32
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #35 on: 06/22/2020 01:55 am »
Spaceflight's CEO may have misspoken recently, but he seemed to suggest that Canon Electronics Inc. is starting their own earth observation constellation, and Canon Electronics Inc. themselves do claim CE-SAT-1B is a mass production prototype sat. So if they are launching their own earth observation constellation, that might cover some of the early launch manifest and provide launch reliability proof to get others to ride with them, but they themselves have not announced a constellation.

For an observation constellation, you don't want a 150kg-class vehicle, you want to launch a full plane each time, that's cheaper. So something like Epsilon would make a lot more sense once past the prototype stage.

Allegedly they are also working on a smaller satellite design, larger than cubesat but smaller than CE-SAT-1B. This might be CE-SAT-2B, it isn't clear. But a smaller design would allow cluster launches, provided they have a means of propulsion to spread out along the plane, or expect the liquid kick stage to do that for them.

Offline MiqBos

  • Member
  • Posts: 12
  • Catalonia
  • Liked: 23
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #36 on: 06/22/2020 03:31 pm »
Allegedly they are also working on a smaller satellite design, larger than cubesat but smaller than CE-SAT-1B. This might be CE-SAT-2B, it isn't clear. But a smaller design would allow cluster launches, provided they have a means of propulsion to spread out along the plane, or expect the liquid kick stage to do that for them.

On their global website Canon states that tehir are developing a smaller satellite called CE-SAT-III, which seems to be a 3U CubeSat: https://global.canon/en/technology/frontier13.html

IHI Aerospace has the know-how in inserting different payloads using the kick stage. They did it on the 4th Epislon launch. There is more info in this paper: https://www.eucass.eu/doi/EUCASS2019-0370.pdf

Quote
For the rideshare mission, Flight  Software (FSW) was improved so that number of guidance steps can be chosen in order  to  inject  each  payloads  into  individual  orbits.  Moreover,  the  newly  developed  guidance  mode,  the  relative altitude  guidance  mode,  was  applied  to  the  fourth  Epsilon.

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2824
  • Liked: 1079
  • Likes Given: 32
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #37 on: 06/23/2020 12:31 am »
It's nice that they are trying to shift to remote sensing data sales as their primary income stream, but that's a hard fight against established oldspace and newspace alike. PlanetLabs in particular would their biggest competitor, and they have a constellation up now and are in mass production of 3U class sats. As far as anyone can see, Canon Electronics Inc. has yet to publicly demonstrate they actually have mass production capability and are not a boutique/bespoke/hand manufacturing operation. Also, to do data sales you need a good data management team, a good image analysis team, and a good customer interface team...

It's nice that they are trying to shift to remote sensing data sales as their primary income stream, but that's a hard fight against established oldspace and newspace alike. PlanetLabs in particular would their biggest competitor, and they have a constellation up now and are in mass production of 3U class sats. As far as anyone can see, Canon Electronics Inc. has yet to publicly demonstrate they actually have mass production capability and are not a boutique/bespoke/hand manufacturing operation. Also, to do data sales you need a good data management team, a good image analysis team, and a good customer interface team...

I guess the question is whether or not they can get better quality data than the competitors, because I agree that it's otherwise very unlikely they'll break into this market. But we are talking about Canon here, so I'd say it's not unreasonable to expect better image quality. There may be something to this.
Wait, ∆V? This site will accept the ∆ symbol? How many times have I written out the word "delta" for no reason?

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2824
  • Liked: 1079
  • Likes Given: 32
Re: Space One - Canon led consortium to develop small launchers
« Reply #39 on: 08/27/2020 01:23 am »
Rumor mill states the first flight has been delayed by at least a year, but the first payload has been secured (appears to not be a "traditional" commercial customer, so probably government). Also lots of related engineers have quit over the last year, probably because the pay/equity is better...

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0