Rocket Report: New launch rule may limit environmental regulations, Falcon 9 to hit Moon

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美国太空军给火箭实验室砸下2.66亿美元大单，成了这家公司史上最大合同，同时Falcon 9火箭即将撞击月球的消息也引发热议。通俗点说，这次合同是让火箭实验室用"电子号"火箭执行12次亚轨道发射任务，还可以追加6次，最早2026年底开工。所谓亚轨道，就是火箭飞到太空边缘但不会绕地球转圈，通常用于测试导弹防御系统或科学实验。这份军方的长期订单意味着商业航天公司在美国军事航天中的地位越来越稳固，过去十年它们承担了大量中小型卫星发射任务，未来还会继续挑大梁。对普通人来说，这些发射看似遥远，但背后是国家安全和科技竞争的角力——你用的GPS、天气预报、通信服务都依赖这些卫星系统。商业火箭公司拿到更多军方合同，会加速技术迭代，降低发射成本，长远看或许能让太空旅游或卫星互联网这类民用服务更普及。至于Falcon 9撞月球，更像是一次失控的太空垃圾归宿，提醒我们近地轨道越来越拥挤，太空交通管理迟早要提上日程。

Welcome to Edition 9.05 of the Rocket Report! It was a big week for launch contracts, with both Rocket Lab and SpaceX scoring sizable deals from the US military for their respective Electron and Falcon 9 rockets. The vehicles have been the workhorses for small and medium lift for the United States over the past decade and may remain so for some time. Also, there will be no Rocket Report next week, as I am traveling on assignment, and Stephen is taking a week off. As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar. Rocket Lab wins large Electron deal. Rocket Lab Corporation announced this week that it has been awarded its largest launch contract to date, a $266 million multi-launch contract with the US Space Force. Under the contract awarded by the US Space Force Space Systems Command, Rocket Lab will execute 12 suborbital launches, with up to six additional launches. The first launch of this contract is expected no earlier than the end of 2026.Read full article Comments