If all goes well, then sometime between June 8-14, Dutch company T-Minus Engineering will launch two Barracuda hypersonic suborbital rockets within the allowed launch window on the same day from Spaceport Nova Scotia.
This follows a launch last November of a single Barracuda that Maritime Launch Services CEO Steve Matier termed a “success,” though the rocket was short of its suborbital altitude goal.
T-Minus Engineering has not revealed what changes have been made to the Barracuda since that launch, but the hypersonic test platform “is a single-stage, solid-fuel suborbital vehicle that stands approximately 4 metres tall. It features a booster with a diameter of 200 millimetres and a payload compartment measuring 1000 millimetres [length]. Barracuda can carry payloads of up to 40 kilograms to altitudes reaching 120 kilometres.”
For Maritime Launch Services (MLS), which own the spaceport, a spokesperson said the launch will be used “in maturing training processes and procedures” and that it will not generate revenue.
The launch will not be livestreamed, though MLS said it will provide updates via social media, including photos and video. MLS also said another suborbital launch is planned later this year.
A Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) has been issued for the launch with these launch windows (All times Atlantic Daylight Time):
- JUN 08 0900-1300
- JUN 09 0900-1300
- JUN 10 1000-1500
- JUN 11 0900-1300
- JUN 12 0900-1300
- JUN 13 0900-1300
- JUN 14 0900-1300