Original subtitles

(futuristic music)

- [Narrator] New projects are advancing slowly,

moving hardware into the testing phase.

New designs, new capabilities.

The next 12 months

will see an intense rise in flight tests,

demonstration launches, (exhaust rumbling)

and high priority flights.

Some are on time,

others are not. (air hissing)

Let's check the flight status

of some of this new hardware (air hissing)

and these new capabilities.

(exhaust rumbling)

(lively music)

(exhaust rumbling)

(exhaust rumbling)

(exhaust hissing)

(asteroid hissing and booming)

(futuristic music)

(upbeat music)

(vehicle humming)

Early morning at Armstrong Flight Research,

Edwards, California.

The Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser

sits engineless, awaiting a lift from a chopper.

(helicopter whirring)

Lift and release.

The remotely controlled lifting body

makes an unpowered descent to the runway,

completing another test run.

The 10-year project has had its difficulties,

but now, the pilotless cargo ship

is a step closer to a 2020 launch

with cargo to the ISS.

(exhaust rumbling)

Boeing's crew capsule, the CST-100 Starliner,

has survived several high altitude drops,

testing chute and airbag deployment.

(exhaust whirring and rumbling)

Weight and aerodynamic issues

have pushed testing back by eight months.

Other aspects of design, however,

are proceeding well,

including new space suit designs.

- [Chris] We needed a suit that was airtight,

could withstand the pressure differential,

could get the crew down from an extreme situation,

whether it was a fire or a cabin leak.

- Underneath these shoulder covers

is some material that we've developed

that really helps provide pressurized mobility

while still preserving unpressurized comfort.

- You can pretty much lay there

without any external cooling.

Right, it's that comfortable.

It's something that I could stand here like this in

and not have to worry about

developing a big heat load.

- [Narrator] The gas intake valves

are located on the abdomen for easy access.

The lightweight gloves and connections

allow easier attachment

and come with added technology.

- A neat feature about these gloves is

they have a advanced material here

that enables you to interact

with a capacitive touchscreen.

So any type of tablet,

you'll be able to interact with

while wearing these gloves while suited

fully up in the suit.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] The lightweight helmet,

akin to the Russian Sokol design,

is attached to the suit,

and sealed with a zipper.

The suit is designed to be worn in the capsule

and not for EVA purposes,

and only in comes Boeing Blue.

At the same time,

Boeing has the capsule trainer in service,

and NASA astronauts assigned to the commercial crew roster

are getting a taste for the new capsule.

- What the Part Task Trainer does

is it gives you a chance

to get the feel and look,

where to look, how to use the procedures.

When you go to a screen in the background,

when I hit this button, what's it gonna look like?

- So I think one of the greatest things

about these trainers,

it gets you so used to what you're gonna do,

we'll practice a number of times

that you'll be so familiar

that like a lot of people ask, "Is it scary?"

Of course it's scary 'cause you're sitting on a rocket,

but you're very familiar with where you are.

- [Narrator] Test schedule

calls for an uncrewed orbital test

later in 2018

and a manned flight at the end of 2018.

This is very ambitious, however,

and previous experience of spacecraft engineering

suggests it may be 12 to 24 months premature.

Another company with an ambitious timetable is SpaceX,

whose Dragon capsule

is looking for an uncrewed flight early 2018,

and a manned launch four months later.

The new breed of entrepreneurial and commercial imperatives

may just make it.

The interior design of this capsule

is more in line with high-end sports cars:

maximum use of carbon fiber, titanium,

and other lightweight alloys

coupled with the latest in electronic display

and glass control surfaces.

(exhaust rumbling)

(suspenseful music)

Far commercial in view

than the usual NASA or Russian practicality

and minimal comfort ergonomics.

- Engine shutdown. - 150 meters per second.

- [Mission Control] Slightly below nominal.

Drogue in one kilometer.

Trunk deploy.

Drogues look good.

Sequencing the mains. (mission control mumbling)

- [Narrator] Their capsule is well along its testing phase,

having completed both static (mission control chattering)

and pad abort exercises,

including parachute deployment test,

a wild ride indeed.

(exhaust rushing and hissing)

(component clicking)

(air whooshing and hissing)

With room for a crew of seven,

the Dragon capsule may well be the first commercial entity

to launch and land astronauts from the ISS

within a year.

(capsule rumbling)

(upbeat music)

(serene music) (air hissing)

(exhaust rumbling)

The Unity spaceplane of Virgin Galactic

has been building its test credentials slowly but steadily.

Having suffered catastrophic failures in the past,

they are fully focused on safety.

Ground crew operations of both the spacecraft

and its carrier plane

are rehearsed ad infinitum,

training and checking as flawless procedures evolve,

(exhaust rumbling)

motor testing again and again.

Unpowered flight,

carried aloft by the White Knight Two.

(aircraft engine roaring)

Rehearsing with ever-greater complexity,

the latest flight's fully loaded

with rocket, motor and propellant tanks.

(aircraft engine roaring)

The pilot's performing a perfect landing.

Next step, a powered suborbital flight,

perhaps sometime in the next 12 months.

(lively music) (exhaust rumbling)

The newest space-capable nation, New Zealand,

is preparing the second launch of its Electron rocket.

Powered by Rocket Lab's homegrown

3D-printed Rutherford engine,

their second test launch is imminent,

designed for the small satellites

and low Earth orbit

at a fraction of the standard cost.

If this second test launch is successful,

then Rocket Lab may drop the third and final test flight

in favor of full commercial deployment next year.

(exhaust rumbling)

(upbeat music)

Blue Origin's reusable New Shepard rocket

and capsule system

has proceeded successfully through the testing phase,

including launch abort (exhaust hissing)

and single parachute landings.

It won't be long before six paying passengers

will fly into space.

- [Mission Control] And liftoff.

New Shepard has cleared the tower.

(exhaust rumbling)

(onlookers cheering)

- [Announcer] There it is, 70,000 pounds of thrust

pushing that crew capsule.

- [Announcer] 'Kay, so those three mains

are reefed right now

to keep them small.

The reefing will remove shortly

to fully expand, as you can see.

- [Announcer] And touchdown of the New Shepard crew capsule.

(exhaust rumbling)

- [Narrator] Blue Origin is also developing

a multistage version to reach orbit.

The New Glenn could send payloads or passengers into orbit

with a two or three-stage variant,

although it is still some years away.

(lively music) (sparks hissing)

(exhaust rumbling)

Delayed several times

from an overenthusiastic launch timeline,

the Falcon Heavy will undergo a static fire test

of all its 27 engines

in the coming weeks.

The first test flight

will follow within the first two or three months

of the new year.

(rocket roaring)

NASA's Space Launch System

has hit further snags in development,

namely issues with the wells of the enormous fuel tanks.

Not unexpected,

as the new technologies and manufacturing techniques evolve.

Delays in delivering the Orion's EMS propulsion system

have also set back the timetable,

with 2020 likely to be the earliest

a flight could take place.

The James Webb Telescope

has also been delayed by a year.

A planned Ariane 5 launch

will hopefully take place mid-2019.

(upbeat music)

(exhaust rumbling)

Ariane 5, Soyuz, and Vega launches

are due for an upgrade.

At the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana,

the new launch facilities for ESA's Ariane 6 launcher

are being built.

At least the big hole is there.

The excavation is done

and the launch zone buildings

will soon appear on schedule.

- The independent access to space

is of course a primary objective.

And we always use the European-developed launchers

to fulfill this objective.

We were lucky enough that

we were very successful also

on the commercial market with Ariane 5.

We still have over 50% of the commercial market.

As we all know,

this environment is exposed to fierce competition.

The offer of launch vehicles

from 2020 onward will be significantly higher.

And we have designed Ariane 6,

we have designed it to cost,

we have designed it to be able to go against

this fierce competition in 2020 onwards.

And for this, of course,

we also use this launcher

to deploy European flagship programs like Galileo.

- [Narrator] This move is associated with a change

in the governance of the European launcher sector

based on a sharing of responsibility,

cost, and risk by ESA

and private industry.

- We are in the middle of the full development

of the launcher, Ariane 6,

and of the base,

which is ELA-4 in Kourou.

I can say that currently,

everything goes well, it's on track.

We are now in the situation

where the configuration is clear.

We know exactly

what the configurations are with

the Ariane 62 and the Ariane 64.

The first one is for institutional payloads mainly

because it's a single payload version

where we can launch up to 4.5 tons

in a sun-synchronous orbit.

And Ariane 64 enables a dual launch

which goes up to 10.5 tons

in an equivalent geostationary transfer orbit.

- ESA and its member states

have a new role in Ariane 6

in the sense that we change governance,

governance by giving more responsibility to industry,

to the private sector

while the public sector has defined

the high level requirements

which means that we said we want a cheaper launcher,

we said we want an environmental friendly launcher,

we want a flexible launcher,

and this is absolutely key in the current situation

to be ready to catch new markets,

and Ariane 6 will be the right response to that.

We can say that European industries

are working full speed ahead.

We just had a Maturity Gate 6, what we call,

where can consolidate the industrial structure.

We aim at starting the first batch of production next year,

spring, next year.

So now we can say (machinery hissing)

the industries are ready, (speaking in foreign language)

they are full speed ahead, (exhaust rumbling)

and we will start to produce Ariane 6

from next year onward.

(exhaust rumbling)

(engine hissing)

(exhaust rumbling)

(exhaust rumbling)

(mission control applauding)

It is very clear,

in a definition of space power,

the independent access to space is part of it.

Ariane 6 and Vega-C

is the new family

of the European independent access to space.

(exhaust rumbling)

- [Narrator] Vega-C will cover the deployment

of the Sentinel satellites

for the EU's Copernicus Programme.

Vega-C will increase Vega's current capacity

from 1.5 to 2.2 tons on polar orbit,

which is the most common for observation satellites.

(lively music)

(exhaust rumbling)

For Ariane 6,

the pad will be different

from previous launchers in Kourou,

with a horizontal preparation of the stages.

The first launch is still on target

for sometime in 2020.

(exhaust rumbling)

(exhaust rumbling)

(upbeat music)

(suspenseful music)

Although there are extensive works going on at Kourou,

they will not affect the upcoming Vega launch

of the European Aeolus satellite

slated for early 2018.

(machinery whirring)

Next major launch is the Tess Exoplanet Survey mission.

The satellite has completed preflight tests

and is the first NASA astrophysics satellite

to be launched under contract with SpaceX.

The current launch window of the Falcon 9

is no earlier than March 2018

and not later than June 2018.

(exhaust rumbling)

The second exoplanet hunter, CHEOPS,

is on schedule as well.

- [Man] The satellite is commissioned by ESA.

The project is being led

by the University of Bern.

They also built the instrument

that's the main part of the satellite.

And the satellite structure,

the platform with all the housekeeping

is built by Airbus in Madrid.

(suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] The satellite has gone through

rigorous preflight tests,

including vibration, acoustic,

and vacuum chamber tortures,

and is on track for late 2018 launch

aboard a Soyuz launcher.

(speaking in foreign language)

(exhaust rumbling)

(machinery clacking)

BepiColombo, the joint JAXA-ESA project bound for Mercury,

is ready to launch.

The mission consists of multiple parts,

including the Mercury Transfer Module,

a sun shield,

and two scientific orbiters:

ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter

and JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter.

The spacecraft was assembled in its launch configuration

inside a clean room at the European Space Research

and Technology Centre, or ESTEC,

in Noordwijk in the Netherlands.

It has been dispatched to the spaceport in Kourou

for its mid-2018 launch

and seven-year flight to Mercury.

(rocket whooshing)

(futuristic chiming)