Tag: Electron rocket
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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,…
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Rocket Lab launches four satellites for BlackSky, UnseenLabs and U.S. Air Force
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifts off from its launch pad in New Zealand. (Rocket Lab via YouTube) Rocket Lab sent a foursome of satellites into orbit today for a threesome of customers, including the Seattle-based BlackSky Earth-watching venture. BlackSky’s sibling subsidiary, Spaceflight, handled the prelaunch logistics for the Global-4 satellite and for a pair of…
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Rocket Lab will try helicopter recovery of rocket booster – and CEO will eat his hat
An artist’s conception shows a future Electron rocket making a re-entry after launch. (Rocket Lab Illustration) Taking a page from SpaceX’s playbook, Rocket Lab’s CEO says the company will try to recover the first-stage booster of its Electron rocket to save time and money. “Electron is going reusable,” CEO Peter Beck announced today at the…
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Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket launches 3 U.S. military satellites from New Zealand
Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle lifts off from its New Zealand pad. (Rocket Lab via YouTube) Rocket Lab sent a trio of research satellites for the U.S. military into orbit tonight from a launch pad that’s thousands of miles from America’s shores, in New Zealand. The Los Angeles-based company’s low-cost Electron rocket lifted off from…
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Rocket Lab launches DARPA’s R3D2 experimental satellite from New Zealand
Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle rises from its New Zealand launch pad. (Rocket Lab via YouTube) Rocket Lab executed its first launch of the year from New Zealand today, sending an experimental satellite into orbit for the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The company’s Electron launch vehicle lifted off from Launch Complex 1 on…
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Rocket Lab sends 13 miniature satellites into orbit from New Zealand for NASA
Rocket Lab’s Electron Rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. (Rocket Lab via YouTube) Rocket Lab has sent its first payloads for NASA into orbit from its New Zealand launch pad, atop a low-cost Electron rocket powered by 3-D-printed engines. Liftoff from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula came at…