Rocket Report: Rogozin’s crazy promise, SpaceX tests Mars engine, SLS slips

Enlarge / The mighty Delta IV Heavy rocket takes to the skies. (credit: Aurich Lawson/United Launch Alliance)
Welcome to Edition 1.35 of the Rocket Report! The leader of Russia's space program, Dmitry Rogozin, has promised his president that the country can double its launch total this year. And if you believe that, well, we've got a trampoline to sell you that will allow your astronauts to reach orbit.
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.

ABL scales up vehicle performance. ABL Space Systems said that it will offer a more powerful variant of its RS1 rocket—up from 900 to 1,200kg to LEO—to find its niche in the crowded smallsat-launcher market. A launch will cost $12 million. Company executives told SpaceNews that the increase in performance comes after a year and a half of work to refine the design of the vehicle and better understand what it would take to produce the rocket.
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