Suborbital Spaceflight by the Numbers

Part II of II

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

The first half of 2022 was a busy period in suborbital space with 23 launches conducted that did not involve tests of ballistic missiles or defensive systems. Twelve people flew above the Karman line, new boosters and space technologies were tested, and the first commercial suborbital launch was conducted from Australia. And some science was done.

We covered the above mentioned flights in depth in a story published on Tuesday. In this piece we’ll look a broader look at who launched what, when, where, why and on what.

Suborbital Launches

The 23 suborbital launches used 13 different launch vehicles that flew from eight different countries on four continents. Nine launches were conducted in the United States, six in China, two apiece in Norway and South Korea, and one each in Australia, Iran, North Korea and Sweden.

Suborbital Launches, January – June 2022
(Excludes Ballistic Missile Tests)

Suborbital Launches by Organization

NASA led the world with nine suborbital flights conducted from three continents using four different types of suborbital rockets. The space agency teamed with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Clemson University, Colorado Space Grant Consortium, University of Miami and the University of Wisconsin-Madison for launches focused on science and education.

Suborbital Launches by Organization
January – June 2022

China’s Space Transportation, a.k.a., (Beijing Lingkong Tianxing Technology, launched the Tianxing I and Tianxing II rockets as part of a program to develop new crewed vehicles. Blue Origin launched its New Shepard suborbital vehicle twice spaceflight participants aboard.

Six other launches were conducted by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Iranian Space Agency, KPA Strategic Rocket Force, Perigee Aerospace and the South Korean Ministry of National Defense.

Suborbital Launches by Purpose

Eleven of 23 suborbital launches were focused on rocket and satellite technology development, 10 flights were dedicated to research, two New Shepard flights carried spaceflight participants above the Karman line, and one launch was focused on education.

Suborbital Human Spaceflight

With Virgin Galactic’s space vehicles in the hangar for modifications, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin had a monopoly on suborbital space tourism flights. The company conducted two suborbital flights that flew 12 individuals above the Karman line at 100 km (62.1 miles).

Suborbital Human Spaceflight
January – June 2022

The NS-20 flight on March 31 gave New Shepard’s chief architect Gary Lai an opportunity to try out the vehicle that he designed. Lai joined the flight after Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson dropped out due to a scheduling conflict.

Lai was joined on New Shepard’s 20th flight by George Nield, a private consultant who previously headed up the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation that is responsible for licensing and regulating launches by Blue Origin and other commercial space companies.

During the flights:

• Marc and Sharon Hagle became the first couple to fly on a commercial space vehicle;
• Echazarreta was the first Mexican-born woman and youngest American woman to fly to space;
• Dick became the first person to fly on New Shepard for a second time, having previously reached space during the NS-19 flight on Dec. 11, 2021; and,
• Hespanha was the second Brazilian to fly to space.

Echazarreta’s flight was sponsored by Space for Humanity’s Citizen Astronaut Program. Hespanha’s won his flight from the Crypto Space Agency.

Booster & Technology Development

Eleven of the 23 suborbital flights were focused on new booster and technology development.

Suborbital Launches, Launch Vehicle & Technology Development
January — June 2022

Space Transportation, a.k.a., Beijing Lingkong Tianxing Technology, conducted six launches as part of its program to develop a reusable suborbital spaceplane for tourism and a hypersonic transport capable of traveling between distant locations on Earth in under two hours.

The company, which has raised $60.6 million, aims to have a crewed flight of a suborbital space tourism vehicle by 2025. Flight tests of a hypersonic vehicle prototype would follow three years later, with completion of a full-scale hypersonic transport in 2030.

Perigee Aerospace of South Korea, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense, and the Iranian Space Agency conducted suborbital flights of small satellite launch vehicles. The specifications for the orbital boosters are:

• Blue Whale 1 (Perigee Aerospace): 40 kg (88.2 lb) into a 500 km (310.7 mile) high sun synchronous orbit | 50 kg (110.2 lb) into a 500 km (310.7 mile) high low Earth orbit (LEO)
• Solid Fuel Space Projectile (South Korea): 500-kg (1,102.3 lb) satellites into Earth orbit
• Zulijanah (Iranian Space Agency):: 220 kg (485 lb) or ten 20 kg (44.1 lb) CubeSats into a 500 km (310.7 mile) high orbit.

The German Aerospace Center tested technologies for future reusable launch vehicles. And North Korea tested an imaging system for a reconnaissance satellite aboard a Hwasong-17 ballistic missile.

Science & Education Flights

NASA and its partners conducted three launches for auroral science, two for x-ray astronomy, and one apiece for education, ionospheric research, solar observation, and laminar-turbulent transition research.

Suborbital Launches, Science and Education
January — June 2022

Three NASA rocket launches from Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska using Black Brant IX and Terrier-Improved Malmute rockets were devoted to studying auroral science. The space agency teamed with Clemson University for two of the flights.

Black Brant IX rocket launches from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and Arnhem Space Center in Australia’s Northern Territory were dedicated to x-ray astronomy. NASA teamed with the University of Miami for the Wallops flight and the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the flight from Arnhem, which was the first commercial launch from Australia.

Five other suborbital launches were focused on education, ionospheric research, laminar-turbulent transition measurements, microgravity research and solar observation.

Suborbital Launches by Location

The United States and the Asia-Pacific region hosted 19 of the 23 suborbital launches during the first half of 2022. Three additional launches were conducted from Europe and one from Iran.

Suborbital Launches by Location
January – June 2022

Nine launches were conducted in the United States. The Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and Poker Flat in Alaska hosted three suborbital launches apiece. Blue Origin launched New Shepard twice from its Corn Ranch spaceport in Texas. Another launch was conducted from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center might have hosted as many as six flights of Space Transportation’s Tianxing I and Tianxing II vehicles.

Three suborbital launches were conducted on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea tested Blue Whale 0.1 and Solid Fuel Space Projectile from different locations. North Korea launched a Hwasong-17 ICBM from Sunan to test an imaging system for a reconnaissance satellite.

Further south, the Arnhem Space Centre in Australia hosted the first of three NASA launches. A second launch occurred in July, with a third one planned for later in the month.

Three suborbital launches were conducted in Europe. Norway hosted launches by DLR and NASA at Andoya and Svalbard, respectively. One suborbital launch was conducted at Esrange in Sweden.

Iran conducted a flight test of its Zulijanah booster from Semnan Space Center.

Suborbital Launches by Booster

The two-stage Black Brant IX booster was launched five times from four different locations: Poker Flat in Alaska, Wallops Island in Virginia, White Sands in New Mexico, and Arnhem in Australia. The flights were focused on auroral science, solar observation and x-ray astronomy.

Suborbital Launches by Booster
January – June 2022

Black Brant IX is part of a family of sounding rockets manufactured by Magellan Aerospace of Winnipeg, Man. There have been more than 1,000 launches of Black Brant rockets with a success rate above 98 percent since 1961. It remains one of the world’s most popular sounding rockets.

Other sounding rockets used for research included the Terrier-improved Malemute (2 launches), Improved Malemute (1), Terrier-improved Orion (1), and Oriole IIIA (1).

Space Transportation launched its Tianxing I and Tianxing II boosters three times apiece. Other suborbital rockets used for launch vehicle and technology development included Blue Whale 0.1, Hwasong-17, Solid Fuel Space Projectile, VSB-30 Improved Orion and Zulijanah.

Part I: A Busy Six Months as Suborbital Spaceflight Comes Into its Own