Tag: Electron
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Rocket Lab launches first operational Electron mission
Rocket Lab has performed the first operational flight of its Electron rocket, named It’s Business Time. The mission launched six satellites, two for Spire Global, two new additional passengers for Fleet Space Technologies via the lofting of two ‘Proxima’ satellites, one for GeoOptics Inc., and one for Irvine CubeSat STEM Program. It also launched one…
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Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches six CubeSats and drag sail demo
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand carrying six CubeSats and a tech demo payload. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Rocket Lab’s live video webcast begins around 20 minutes prior to launch, and will be available on…
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Rocket Lab sets new target date for first operational launch
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket on its launch pad in New Zealand earlier this year. Credit: Rocket Lab/Kieran Fanning Rocket Lab announced this week it has added two more nanosatellites to the first operational launch of the company’s Electron rocket, which is now scheduled to take off from New Zealand no earlier than Nov. 10, U.S.…
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Rocket Lab breaks ground on new Virginia launch pad
Officials from Rocket Lab, NASA, and the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority broke ground on a new launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia, on Oct. 17. Credit: NASA/Wallops Rocket Lab broke ground on a new launch pad on Virginia’s Eastern Shore last week after selecting the Wallops Island location for the company’s first U.S.-based launch…
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Rocket Lab selects Wallops as first U.S. launch site, readies Electron for November launch
U.S.-based company Rocket Lab has announced the selection of Wallops at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia as their first U.S. launch location to supplement capabilities from their New Zealand launch pad. The announcement comes roughly one month ahead of the company’s anticipated New Zealand launch of an Electron rocket named “It’s Business Time”, the…
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Scotland site selected as launch base for Lockheed Martin, Orbex
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated July 17 with Rocket Lab statement. Artist’s concept of a rocket lifting off from the U.K.’s first vertical orbital launch site in northern Scotland. Credit: Lockheed Martin Two companies — U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin and British start-up Orbex — seeking to carve out a share of the burgeoning small satellite launch market…
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Rocket Lab’s first commercial launch grounded to fix nagging technical issue
Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab will bypass its current launch window to resolve a recurring problem with a motor controller on the company’s light-class Electron rocket, officials said Thursday, likely postponing its first commercial satellite launch at least a few weeks. The indefinite delay is the second time the U.S.-New Zealand launch company, which is…
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Rocket Lab’s first commercial launch scrubbed again
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket on its launch pad in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab The liftoff of a Rocket Lab Electron booster from New Zealand with five U.S.- and German-built nanosatellites was grounded Tuesday, U.S. time, after engineers identified a problem with a motor controller on the two-stage launcher. Rocket Lab officials did not immediately…
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Ground antenna problem scrubs Rocket Lab’s first commercial launch
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) on June 24 and 12 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT) on June 25. A view of the Electron rocket on its launch pad in New Zealand shortly after Rocket Lab scrubbed the launch attempt. Credit: Rocket Lab Problems with a downrange tracking station kept Rocket Lab’s Electron…
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CubeSats set to ride on Rocket Lab’s first commercial launch
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket is set for liftoff from New Zealand on Friday. Credit: Rocket Lab Five small satellites, including one built by high school students in Southern California, are awaiting launch Friday from New Zealand aboard the first commercial flight of Rocket Lab’s Electron booster. The U.S.-New Zealand launch company plans liftoff of the…