Tag: Electron
-
Smallsat companies teaming up on deorbit experiment
Artist’s concept of a satellite manufactured by Millennium Space Systems. Credit: Millennium Space Systems TriSept Corp. has announced plans for a commercial technology demonstration mission set for launch next year on a Rocket Lab Electron vehicle to test a deployable conductive tape, made by Tethers Unlimited, that could help small satellites more quickly fall out…
-
Rocket Lab to begin booster recovery experiments later this year
Rocket Lab’s next launch from New Zealand, set for Friday, will carry a data recorder to measure the aerothermal environments encountered by the Electron launcher’s first stage during descent back into the atmosphere, information engineers say is crucial to successfully achieving the company’s newly-announced plan to recover and reuse the booster. The U.S.-New Zealand…
-
Rocket Lab announces August launch with commercial and military satellites
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated with orbital parameters, and identities of the U.S. Air Force Command satellites. The first stage for Rocket Lab’s next Electron launch. Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab’s next launch from New Zealand in August will carry four small spacecraft into orbit for BlackSky’s Earth-imaging constellation, the U.S. Air Force, and a French startup developing…
-
Made in Space wins NASA contract to 3D-print satellite structures in orbit
NASA awarded a $73.7 million contract Friday to the California-based startup Made in Space for a 3D-printing demonstration using a free-flying small satellite to additively manufacture solar array beams in space. Made in Space’s satellite mission, named Archinaut One, will have the ability to 3D-print its own structures in orbit. The small satellite is…
-
Rocket Lab conducts Spaceflight Inc. Rideshare Mission with Electron launch
Rocket Lab launched its third Electron rocket launch of the year on Saturday. The seventh flight of Electron, named “Make It Rain,” carried seven satellites for Spaceflight Inc. Daily launch windows from 04:30 to 06:30 UTC began on June 27. However, the launch moved to Saturday (local time) after a 48 hour delay due to…
-
Rocket Lab launches STP-27RD test satellite trio for the DoD
Rocket Lab launched their Electron rocket for its second launch of 2019. In its sixth overall mission, Electron launched the SPARC-1, Falcon ODE, and Harbinger satellites into orbit, as part of the Space Test Program (STP). The launch took place at 6:00 UTC, from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 (LC-1) in New Zealand, following a…
-
Rocket Lab deploys experimental U.S. military smallsats on first night launch
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifted off at 0600 GMT (2 a.m. EDT; 6 p.m. New Zealand time) Sunday. Credit: Rocket Lab On its first nighttime launch, Rocket Lab’s Electron booster climbed into orbit Sunday from New Zealand with a trio of small U.S. military payloads, demonstrating the privately-developed rocket’s ability to help meet the Air…
-
Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches three U.S. military smallsats
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand carrying three U.S. military-sponsored experimental satellites into orbit on the STP-27RD mission. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Rocket Lab’s live video webcast begins around 15 minutes prior to launch, and…
-
Rocket Lab launches DARPA research satellite
Rocket Lab’s fifth Electron rocket launched at 7:27 p.m. EDT (2327 GMT) from the company’s launch complex on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab/Kieran Fanning & Sam Toms A Rocket Lab Electron rocket climbed into orbit from New Zealand Thursday (U.S. time) with an experimental payload for a U.S. military research and development…
-
Rocket Lab launches dedicated DARPA mission on Electron
Rocket Lab is aiming for a rapid launch cadence in 2019, and begun that campaign with the first Electron launch of the year. The window to launch the R3D2 mission for DARPA was to open on Sunday at 22:30 UTC for four hours. However, a scrub was called for at least 48 hours due to…