Jan 152017
Hidden behind SpaceX’s successful Falcon 9 launch and landing was the unfortunate failure of the Japanese SS-520-4. This is a three-stage derivative of the SS-520 two-stage sounding rocket; it was hoped that it would put a 4-kilogram satellite into a 180X1500 km orbit. Sadly, somethign went wrong and the second stage did not ignite. If the SS-520-4 can be made to work, it’ll be one of the smallest space launch systems developed… 31 feet long, 20 inches diameter, 2.9 tons at liftoff.
The NOTS-EV-1 “NOTSNIK” was a substantially smaller & lighter space launcher, but:
- Of ten launch attempts, none are confirmed to have succeeded (two *may* have)
- It was small, but it had to be hauled to altitude by an F4D-1 Skyray, which was substantially bigger than the SS-520-4.