Tag: Electron
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Rocket Lab returns Electron to flight with dedicated US Space Force mission
Rocket Lab conducted the 21st flight of its Electron small satellite launch vehicle, a return to flight mission following a failure over two months ago. The launch carried a satellite for the United States Space Force on a dedicated trip. Electron launched at the opening of the launch window at 06:00 UTC Thursday. Electron lifted-off…
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Rocket Lab suffers failure on Electron’s 20th mission
Rocket Lab conducted its twentieth launch of an Electron rocket, named “Running Out of Toes,” carrying two Earth-observation satellites for BlackSky’s global monitoring constellation. The mission also included a successful attempt to recover an Electron first stage for the second time after a soft splashdown in the Māhia Recovery Zone in the Pacific Ocean. This…
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Two BlackSky satellites lost on Rocket Lab launch failure
An Electron rocket lifts off at 7:11 a.m. EDT (1111 GMT) Saturday from Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab A Rocket Lab Electron launcher malfunctioned about two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff from New Zealand Saturday, destroying two BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites in the launch company’s second failed flight in less than a year. Rocket Lab,…
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Live coverage: Rocket Lab’s upper stage runs into trouble soon after launch
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand carrying two BlackSky optical Earth observation satellites. Rocket Lab will attempt to recover the first stage at sea. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Rocket Lab’s live video webcast begins approximately…
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Rocket Lab ready for second booster recovery attempt
Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher during a countdown dress rehearsal earlier this month. Credit: Rocket Lab The scheduled launch Saturday of two commercial BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites from New Zealand will double as an opportunity for Rocket Lab to test an enhanced heat shield on its Electron booster, an upgrade that should allow the company to recover…
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Rocket Lab launches Photon pathfinder on They Go Up So Fast
The 19th flight of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket, named They Go Up So Fast, lifted off on Monday, March 22 at 22:30 UTC. On board the mission were six customer satellites and an internal Photon pathfinder satellite named Pathstone, which will gain flight heritage ahead of future Photon missions to the moon and Venus. The…
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Another One Leaves The Crust begins busy year for Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab started its busiest year with the dedicated launch of a micro-satellite aboard their Electron rocket for OHB Group on Wednesday. Named “Another One Leaves The Crust,” the mission launched at 2:26 AM EST (07:26 UTC) on Wednesday, January 20 from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1A on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula. This was the…
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Rocket Lab launches communications satellite for OHB
An Electron launcher lifts off Wednesday from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1A in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab A mysterious small satellite built by the German company OHB, purported to be a pathfinder for a Chinese-owned communications constellation, took off from New Zealand Wednesday and soared into orbit on top of a Rocket Lab Electron…
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Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches from New Zealand on its first mission of 2021
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand carrying a clandestine payload for the German company OHB. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Rocket Lab’s live video webcast begins approximately 15 minutes prior to launch, and will be available…
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Rocket Lab set to launch super-secret satellite for German company
An Electron rocket stands on Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1A for the company’s first mission of 2021. Credit: Rocket Lab A small communications satellite built by the German company OHB — a payload so secret that no one has officially disclosed its name or end user — is set to ride a Rocket Lab Electron…