Tag: Electron rocket
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Rocket Lab Launches U.S. Space Force Mission in Under 17 Hours After Call-Up
Rocket Lab has successfully launched a responsive space mission for the U.S. Space Force, deploying a spacecraft less than 17 hours after receiving a launch order as part of the Victus Haze mission. The mission, conducted under the U.S. Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program, lifted off aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from…
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Rocket Lab Launches Confidential Satellite on Electron Rocket From New Zealand
Rocket Lab launched a satellite for an undisclosed commercial customer on March 5, sending the payload into low Earth orbit aboard its Electron rocket from the company’s launch site in New Zealand. The 18-meter-tall Electron rocket lifted off at 6:53 p.m. EST (2353 GMT), or 12:53 p.m. local time on March 6, beginning a mission…
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Rocket Lab Delays Neutron Rocket Debut to Q4 2026 as 2025 Revenue Climbs 38%
Rocket Lab said the inaugural flight of its medium-lift Neutron rocket will be delayed until the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the company’s 2025 earnings report. The update pushes the timeline beyond earlier expectations that the rocket could debut sooner and comes after a fuel tank ruptured during testing in January. The delay relates…
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Rocket Lab Marks 80th Electron Launch With Open Cosmos Mission
Rocket Lab has completed its 80th Electron launch and its first mission of 2026, successfully deploying two spacecraft for European space technology company Open Cosmos, the company said. The mission, titled The Cosmos Will See You Now, lifted off at 11:52 p.m. NZDT on Jan. 22 from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.…
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Failure strikes Rocket Lab after launch from New Zealand
Rocket Lab’s string of 20 consecutive successful launches ended Tuesday when the company’s Electron rocket failed to deliver a small commercial radar imaging satellite into orbit. The problem occurred on the upper stage of the Electron rocket about two and a half minutes after liftoff from Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. This was the fourth…
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Seattle’s satellite industry plays leading role in BlackSky’s Earth-observing network
The two BlackSky satellites that were launched, and lost, during a Rocket Lab mission are seen here at LeoStella’s satellite factory being prepared for shipment to New Zealand in March. (LeoStella Photo) Update for 6:30 a.m. PT May 15: Two BlackSky satellites were lost when the second stage of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket suffered an…
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Rocket Lab’s 12th launch sends satellites into space for NRO, NASA and Australia
Rocket Lab’s low-cost Electron rocket lofted a bevy of small satellites into orbit tonight for the National Reconnaissance Office, NASA and a project backed by the Australian government and the University of New South Wales Canberra Space. Liftoff from Rocket Lab’s oceanside launch complex on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula came at 5:12 p.m. local time…
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Rocket Lab launches secret payload from New Zealand for U.S. spy satellite agency
After waiting out high winds, Rocket Lab’s low-cost Electron rocket launched a top-secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office from New Zealand, halfway around the world from the U.S. spy satellite agency’s headquarters. Liftoff for the “Birds of a Feather” mission took place at 6:56 p.m. PT today (3:56 p.m. local time Friday), nearly three…
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Rocket Lab’s Virginia launch pad opens for business, with Air Force as first customer
With Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck at center, dignitaries gather at Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia’s Wallops Island. (NASA Wallops Photo) Rocket Lab today celebrated the opening of a launch complex on the Virginia coast, half a world away from its first launch pad in New Zealand. The California-based company’s…
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Rocket Lab launches Japanese satellite that’s designed to spit out shooting stars for Olympics
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifted off from its New Zealand launch pad today, sending a shooting-star satellite and six other miniaturized satellites into orbit. Japan’s ALE-2 satellite is designed to drop bunches of chemical pellets into the atmosphere from orbit, producing fiery streaks of glowing plasma that look like meteor showers. The “Sky Canvas” mission,…