Tag: Rocket Lab
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Launch Roundup: New Glenn, Viasat, & Sentinel-6B highlight busy week of launches
This week’s launch schedule featured two high-profile launches that were pushed back after scrubs from last week, as well as the Sentinel-6B mission and two Starlink missions for SpaceX. A suborbital Electron HASTE mission from Wallops is also scheduled. New Glenn’s second launch, featuring the Mars-bound ESCAPADE payload, was scheduled to launch no earlier than…
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Rocket Lab Launches iQPS Satellite on Sixth Mission for Japanese Earth-Imaging Firm
*]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports-[content-visibility:auto]:[contain-intrinsic-size:auto_100lvh] scroll-mt-[calc(var(–header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]” dir=”auto” tabindex=”-1″ data-turn-id=”request-WEB:7adac108-e90a-45dc-9fe0-7a16dc96bce8-1″ data-testid=”conversation-turn-4″ data-scroll-anchor=”true” data-turn=”assistant” style=”height: auto !important;”> Rocket Lab successfully launched its sixth mission for Japanese Earth-imaging company iQPS on Tuesday, deploying another satellite to strengthen the firm’s constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) spacecraft. An Electron rocket carrying the QPS-SAR-14 satellite, named Yachihoko-I, lifted off from Rocket Lab’s…
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Rocket Lab launches 7th StriX Earth observation satellites for Japan-based Synspective
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 1 at Mahia, New Zealand on the ‘Owl New World’ mission for Synspective. Image: Rocket Lab Japan-based Earth observation company, Synspective, launched its seventh StriX satellite into low Earth orbit, part of a multi-launch deal with Rocket Lab. On Wednesday morning in Mahia, New Zealand…
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Peter Beck discusses Neutron development as maiden flight nears
Rocket Lab’s ambitious push to launch its Neutron medium-lift rocket before the end of the year is entering the home stretch, with CEO Sir Peter Beck telling NSF that his team is “literally sleeping in the factories” to meet the aggressive timeline. “We’ll be there on the last day of December until the last hour…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 launches Starlink and Kuiper satellites
SpaceX is scheduled to launch up to three times this week, with each mission planned to deploy internet communications satellites into low-Earth orbit: two for the company’s own Starlink megaconstellation and one for its competitor, Amazon’s Project Kuiper. China kicked off the week’s launch manifest, for those in UTC, with the launch of its 100th…
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Voyager Technologies Taps Vivace to Build Starlab Space Station Structure
Voyager Technologies has selected Vivace Corporation to produce the primary structure of the Starlab commercial space station, the companies announced Wednesday. Vivace, an aerospace manufacturer serving NASA, United Launch Alliance, Rocket Lab, and Northrop Grumman, will carry out design-to-manufacture work and begin production at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, Louisiana. Earlier this year,…
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Rocket Lab eyes Mars Telecommunications Orbiter as NASA revives mission concept
Rocket Lab—the operator of the world’s second-busiest orbital rocket—has been touting its vision for a Mars Telecommunications Orbiter. Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, laid out a compelling case during an exclusive interview with NSF on Wednesday. The interest lies in a revived $700 million congressional push to bridge Earth and the Red…
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Rocket Lab inaugurates LC-3 at Wallops
Rocket Lab has inaugurated Launch Complex 3 (LC-3) for its Neutron rocket, which is set to launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia. Neutron represents a pivotal advancement in the company’s shift from small-lift to medium-lift launch services and fully realizes its goal of full reusability. This new facility, built at…
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Launch Roundup: Launch manifest remains busy as 2025’s halfway point approaches
With summer and winter for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres now in full swing, the halfway point of 2025 is fast approaching, and the worldwide launch manifest continues to be as busy as ever. SpaceX has launched four Falcon 9 missions this week, with a private crewed mission to the International Space Station and three…
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Northrop Grumman Invests $50 Million in Firefly Aerospace to Advance Medium-Lift Rocket Eclipse
Northrop Grumman announced on May 29 a $50 million investment in Firefly Aerospace, joining a $175 million Series D funding round for the company that values it at over $2 billion. The funding will support development of Firefly’s medium-lift launch vehicle, recently renamed Eclipse. Eclipse is designed to carry payloads up to 16,300 kilograms to…