Tag: Electron
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Launch Roundup: Orbital launches from five countries planned
On the heels of a busy April, activity is ramping up for May with launches from five countries and six launch sites on three continents this week. A new orbital launch site in Australia was scheduled to make its debut, but was delayed due to an issue with the launch vehicle, while launches from sites…
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Rocket Lab to debut point-to-point cargo transportation capability on 2026 Air Force mission
An artist’s rendering of a Rocket Lab Neutron rocket during stage separation. Illustration: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab is looking to demonstrate the reusability of its forthcoming Neutron rocket next year with a so-called ‘return-to-Earth’ mission no earlier than 2026. Ahead of its first quarter 2025 earnings call on Thursday, the company announced a new contract…
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Rocket Lab launches 8 wildfire detection satellites for OroraTech on Electron rocket
An artist’s depiction of an OroraTech OTC-P1 satellite in low Earth orbit. Graphic: OroraTech via Rocket Lab Update 12:35 p.m. EDT: Rocket Lab confirms successful deployment of all eight satellites. Rocket Lab completed its fifth Electron rocket launch of the year, this time with a mission to send eight fire detection satellites into low Earth…
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Launch Roundup: Spectrum, Electron, and Falcon 9 fly missions
This week included three launches scheduled for Wednesday and the third Electron rocket to fly within 12 days. SpaceX kicked off the week with the launch of a classified mission on Monday. Two Starlink missions also flew alongside two others from China this week. Firefly Aerospace postponed the sixth flight of its Alpha rocket, following…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and Firefly set to launch amid busy launch manifest
This week, a busy launch manifest saw SpaceX launch the Crew-10 and two Starlink missions from Florida and the delayed SPHEREx/PUNCH and Transporter 13 missions from California. Outside of the United States, Rocket Lab flew an Electron from New Zealand. A Chang Zhang 8 rocket launched from a new commercial pad in China which also…
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Launch Roundup: Starship and Ariane 6 launch after scrubs
SpaceX launches Starship’s eighth flight test, Arianespace’s Ariane 6 launches from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, and China sends another Chang Zheng 3B/E to space. Ariane 6 kicks off the week by launching high-resolution reconnaissance satellites for the French Space Agency, followed by Starship’s eighth flight test. Then, Chang Zheng 3B/E takes another…
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Rocket Lab launches BlackSky Gen-3 satellite on 60th Electron flight
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket stands at Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, ahead of the launch of BlackSky’s first Gen-3 satellite. Image: Rocket Lab Update 7:16 p.m. EST (0016 UTC): Rocket Lab confirms a successful payload deployment. Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) completed its second Electron rocket of the month and its 60th to date.…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 achieves Bahamas booster landing; Electron flies 60th mission
Three Falcon 9 Starlink missions and a Rocket Lab Electron launch from New Zealand made up the launch manifest for this week. The first Starlink flight of the week saw a Falcon booster land within Bahamian waters for the first time, while Electron’s launch marked the 60th flight of the rocket since its first flight…
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Rocket Lab launches first Electron rocket of 2025 from New Zealand
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand to begin the ‘IoT 4 You and Me’ mission for customer, Kinéis. Image: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab launched its first orbital mission of 2025 on Sunday morning local time. The company’s 59th Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 1, Pad…
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Launch Roundup: Soyuz flies; New Shepard simulates lunar gravity
This week’s launch manifest is quite diverse, featuring the launches of four different rockets worldwide. Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital rocket has simulated the Moon’s gravity from just beyond the Kármán line, and Rocket Lab launched Electron for the first time this year from New Zealand. Russia launched Soyuz for the first time in 2025…