It’s rare, but astronauts have been off-planet to give birth to their child. NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, who will lead the Artemis III mission next year, last flew aboard the space shuttle Atlantis in 2009 when his wife gave birth to their daughter in Houston. This launch was postponed for several weeks to repair a leaking valve on Dragon’s propulsion system. This involved a job in which the suspect valve was cut out and a new one was welded in – an unusual but apparently successful repair method.
Canadian company is pursuing a medium rocket. More countries are interested in developing their own access to space, including those that have historically paid U.S. companies to launch their satellites. Canada is no different, and the Trump administration’s apparent obsession with spreading threats and tariffs across the northern border has only highlighted Canada’s interest in sovereign access to space.
This spring, the Canadian government announced the first awards to three companies – NordSpace, Reaction Dynamics and Canada Rocket Company – to support work on rockets with “light lift” capability. Now one of those rocket developers, Canada Rocket Company, says it is skipping the small launch segment and going straight to a more ambitious medium rocket, Ars reports.
R-2 V2? … Canada Rocket Company is following the example of several US launch vehicles and is relying on a larger rocket. “The advice we’ve gotten from talking to about 150 engineers, from the director of Starship engineering to some entry-level employees, is that you can’t de-risk a rocket development program by building a smaller rocket,” said Hugh Kolias, chief executive of Canada Rocket Company, in an interview with Ars.
The company’s R-2 rocket looks a bit like SpaceX’s Falcon 9, with nine engines and landing legs, signaling a future path to reusing the first stage. It could carry up to 12.5 tons into low Earth orbit. If all goes well, Kolias said, the company could be ready to launch by 2032.
