Tag: Rocket Lab
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 and Electron to extend satellite constellations
This week’s manifest includes the delayed launches of a Falcon 9 with Galileo global positioning satellites and an Electron with a second batch of satellites for Kinéis. SpaceX also launched a batch of 20 Starlink satellites from California as the constellation increases to 6,000 operational satellites. Following last weekend’s return and recovery of the Polaris…
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Launch Roundup: Polaris Dawn, ISS crewed launch headline busy week
This week’s manifest features four Falcon 9 launches, including the highly anticipated Polaris Dawn crewed mission, a mission carrying AST SpaceMobile’s first five cellphone-compatible broadband satellites, and the delayed launch of two more satellites for Europe’s mid-Earth orbit Galileo constellation. Additionally, Roscosmos has launched the Soyuz MS-26 crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS).…
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Rocket Lab entered “hero mode” to finish Mars probes—now it’s up to Blue Origin
Two NASA spacecraft built by Rocket Lab are on the road from California to Florida this weekend to begin preparations for launch on Blue Origin’s first New Glenn rocket. These two science probes must launch between late September and mid-October to take advantage of a planetary alignment between Earth and Mars that only happens once…
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Rocket Report: ULA is losing engineers; SpaceX is launching every two days
Welcome to Edition 7.07 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX has not missed a beat since the Federal Aviation Administration gave the company a green light to resume Falcon 9 launches after a failure last month. In 19 days, SpaceX has launched 10 flights of the Falcon 9 rocket, taking advantage of all three of its…
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Rocket Lab’s Mars-bound twin satellites – Blue and Gold – hit the road ahead of Blue Origin launch
The fully integrated EscaPADE satellites sit inside a clean room at Rocket Lab’s Space Systems Group facility in Long Beach, California. Image: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab is gearing up for its first mission to another planet. In the fall, two of its spacecraft will hitch a ride onboard a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket to…
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Rocket Lab launches 5th mission for Japanese Earth observation company, Synspective
Rocket Lab’s 51st Electron rocket stands at Pad B in Mahia, New Zealand, in preparation for the launch of the “Owl for One, Owl for All” mission. Image: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab launched its ninth mission of 2024 and its 51st Electron rocket launch to date. The flight sent an Earth observing satellite to low…
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Falcon 9’s return to flight reminds spaceflight industry of past anomalies
Nearly every rocket that has flown has had an anomaly. With thousands of components that all need to work in perfect harmony to have a successful mission, there is likely to be one component that is unable to perform every once in a while. While witnessing an anomaly in spaceflight is not as improbable as…
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Rocket Report: China flies reusable rocket hopper; Falcon Heavy dazzles
Welcome to Edition 6.50 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX launched its 10th Falcon Heavy rocket this week with the GOES-U weather satellite for NOAA, and this one was a beauty. The late afternoon timing of the launch and atmospheric conditions made for great photography. Falcon Heavy has become a trusted rocket for the US government,…
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Sir Peter Beck unplugged: “Transporter can do it for free for all we care”
Peter Beck has been having a pretty great June. Earlier this month, he was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Then, Sir Peter Beck presided as Rocket Lab launched its 50th Electron rocket, becoming the fastest company to launch its 50th privately developed booster. Finally, last week, Rocket Lab revealed…
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Rocket Lab successfully launches its 50th Electron rocket
A close-up shot of the nine Rutherford engines at the base of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket. The flight marked the 50th launch of Electron since its debut in 2017. Image: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab successfully reached a milestone that few commercial rockets achieved and at a pace that outperformed its competition. The company launched its…