{"id":12373,"date":"2020-07-04T21:12:54","date_gmt":"2020-07-04T13:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-lab-satellite-launch-fails-before-reaching-orbit\/"},"modified":"2020-07-04T21:12:54","modified_gmt":"2020-07-04T13:12:54","slug":"rocket-lab-satellite-launch-fails-before-reaching-orbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-lab-satellite-launch-fails-before-reaching-orbit\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab satellite launch fails before reaching orbit"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_46132\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46132\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-46132\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/fl13_quick1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"556\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/fl13_quick1.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/fl13_quick1-300x185.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/fl13_quick1-768x474.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/fl13_quick1-678x419.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-46132\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An Electron rocket takes off Saturday (U.S. time) from New Zealand with seven satellites on-board. Credit: Rocket Lab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A failure during the second stage burn of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket caused seven small commercial satellites to crash back to Earth Saturday following liftoff from New Zealand.<\/p>\n<p>Carrying satellites from the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom, the Electron launcher lifted off from Rocket Lab\u2019s privately-run spaceport on New Zealand\u2019s North Island at 5:19:36 p.m. EDT (2119:36 GMT).<\/p>\n<p>The 55-foot-tall (17-meter), liquid-fueled rocket aimed to deploy the small satellites at an altitude of 310 miles (500 kilometers), but a malfunction during the Electron\u2019s second stage burn kept the rocket from attaining the velocity needed to enter a stable orbit around Earth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe lost the flight late into the mission,\u201d tweeted Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab. \u201cI am incredibly sorry that we failed to deliver our customers satellites today. Rest assured we will find the issue, correct it and be back on the pad soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement Saturday, Rocket Lab said the issue that caused the launch failure occurred \u201capproximately four minutes into the flight.\u201d The company said the rocket stayed within its flight safety corridor, and that it is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to \u201cinvestigate the anomaly and identify its root cause to correct the issue to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first visual evidence of a problem on Rocket Lab\u2019s live video webcast of Saturday\u2019s mission occurred somewhat later.<\/p>\n<p>The video stream appeared to show the Electron\u2019s second stage firing normally until the live feed from the rocket froze at T+plus 5 minutes, 41 seconds. At the same time, telemetry data displayed on Rocket Lab\u2019s video stream showed the rocket stop accelerating at a velocity of 8,509 mph, or nearly 13,700 kilometers per hour.<\/p>\n<p>An altitude display showed the rocket continue climbing for about 26 more seconds, reaching a peak altitude of 121 miles (194.8 kilometers) before descending back to Earth. The rocket and its payloads likely disintegrated and burned up once they re-entered the atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1279536259715813376&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2020%2F07%2F04%2Frocket-lab-satellite-launch-fails-before-reaching-orbit%2F&amp;sessionId=e03dfb77904487c44f513ed1f3244bb2405f4149&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1279536259715813376\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782697119192777097=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Here\u2019s the moment the video feed from Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron launch vehicle ended &amp; live telemetry appeared to show the rocket stopped accelerating.<\/p>\n<p>The data feed showed the rocket reached a peak altitude of 194.8 kilometers before falling back to Earth.https:\/\/t.co\/GMLbgXLtm5 pic.twitter.com\/mCydc8XJzI<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) July 4, 2020<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The seven satellites lost in Saturday\u2019s launch failure were owned by Canon, Planet and a British startup company named In-Space Missions.<\/p>\n<p>Canon\u2019s CE-SAT-1B Earth-imaging spacecraft was the largest of the payloads on Saturday\u2019s mission. The 147-pound (67-kilogram) satellite was shaped like a cube, and measures a bit larger than a dorm room refrigerator.<\/p>\n<p>Its camera system was designed to be able to resolve objects on the ground as small as about 3 feet, or 90 centimeters, according to Canon. CE-SAT-1B was to be Canon\u2019s second satellite in orbit, and the Japanese electronics company \u2014 eyeing a fleet of Earth-viewing satellites \u2014 intended to test the spacecraft\u2019s design for future mass production.<\/p>\n<p>Spaceflight, a Seattle-based rideshare launch broker acquired by the Japanese conglomerate Mitsui last month, arranged the launch of the CE-SAT-1B spacecraft with Rocket Lab.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are of course disappointed, while at the same time are always aware that launch failures are part of the business of space,\u201d Spaceflight said in a statement. \u201cWe will work closely with Rocket Lab and our customer Canon Electronics who had their CE-SAT-IB imaging satellite onboard this mission to figure out the next steps, but we are undeterred in our resolve to get our customers to space.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have faith in all our launch vehicles, including Electron, and look forward to many more successful launches with them,\u201d Spaceflight said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_46133\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46133\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-46133\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/EcGS4mGVcAILFfI.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/EcGS4mGVcAILFfI.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/EcGS4mGVcAILFfI-200x300.jpeg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-46133\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Canon\u2019s CE-SAT-1B Earth-imaging satellite was the largest payload lost on Saturday\u2019s mission. Six smaller CubeSats were stowed inside Rocket Lab\u2019s Maxwell deployers. Credit: Rocket Lab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Five SuperDove Earth observation nanosatellites from Planet were also aboard Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron rocket Saturday. The SuperDoves were advanced versions of Planet\u2019s medium-resolution Dove satellites, and are each about the size of a shoebox.<\/p>\n<p>Based in San Francisco, Planet operates a fleet of more than 120 Earth observation satellites providing daily imaging coverage over all of the world\u2019s landmass, providing data on changing features to governments and businesses. The five SuperDoves launched with Rocket Lab Saturday were part of Planet\u2019s \u201cFlock 4e\u201d batch of nanosatellites.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile it\u2019s never the outcome that we hope for, the risk of launch failure is one Planet is always prepared for,\u201d Planet said in a statement on its website. \u201cWe already have 26 SuperDoves, Flock 4v, slated for launch on a Vega rocket later this summer, and several other launches over the next 12 months are on the manifest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The other payload on Rocket Lab\u2019s failed launch Saturday was Faraday 1, a CubeSat from the British company In-Space Missions. The 6U CubeSat measures about the size of a small briefcase, and is the first in a series of smallsats planned by In-Space Missions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe In-Space team is absolutely gutted by this news,\u201d the company tweeted. \u201cTwo years of hard work from an incredibly committed group of brilliant engineers up in smoke. It really was a very cool little spacecraft.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Faraday 1 was packed with experimental payloads, including&nbsp;a software-defined radio from Airbus Defense and Space that can be remotely reprogrammed in orbit. Other payloads on Faraday 1 were to pursue applications such as Internet of Things, characterization of a ground-based laser, 360-degree optical video imaging, radio spectrum monitoring, real-time video from space, and satellite-based communications, according to In-Space Missions.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1279526199375601664&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2020%2F07%2F04%2Frocket-lab-satellite-launch-fails-before-reaching-orbit%2F&amp;sessionId=e03dfb77904487c44f513ed1f3244bb2405f4149&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1279526199375601664\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782697119192777097=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Liftoff of Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron rocket from Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand, boosting satellites into orbit for Canon, Planet and the British startup In-Space Missions.<\/p>\n<p>WATCH LIVE: https:\/\/t.co\/GMLbgXLtm5 pic.twitter.com\/4ap9HALRZR<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) July 4, 2020<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The launch Saturday was the 13th mission for Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron booster, which is sized to carry small satellites into orbit on dedicated missions. Rocket Lab says its launch service allows smallsat companies to put their payloads into more ideal orbits on their own schedule, rather than taking a rideshare or secondary payload slot on a larger rocket.<\/p>\n<p>A ground system problem forced the termination of the first Electron test launch in 2017. Rocket Lab officials said the Electron rocket operated normally on that mission until range safety teams had to send the termination command.<\/p>\n<p>Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab had accumulated 11 straight successful launches since then, delivering 53 small satellites into orbit for commercial customers, universities, NASA, the U.S. military and the National Reconnaissance Office.<\/p>\n<p>Before Saturday\u2019s launch failure, Rocket Lab said it aimed to launch on a monthly cadence for the rest of 2020 and into 2021. The company said it planned to launch its first Electron rocket from a new launch site at Wallops Island, Virginia, as early as August.<\/p>\n<p>Rocket Lab\u2019s next launch from New Zealand was to carry a commercial radar surveillance satellite into orbit for Capella Space, a San Francisco startup developing a constellation of all-weather Earth-imaging spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>The company said in a statement Saturday it has eight Electron rockets in production at factories in Auckland, New Zealand, and in Southern California.<\/p>\n<p>Made of carbon fiber materials and powered by 3D-printed engines with electric turbopumps, the Electron rocket has numerous missions on the books, including flights for the U.S. military, the NRO and NASA, which announced a contract earlier this year for Rocket Lab to launch a CubeSat to the moon.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Electron rocket takes off Saturday (U.S. time) from New Zealand with seven satellites on-board. Credit: Rocket Lab A failure during the second stage burn of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket caused seven small commercial satellites to crash back to Earth Saturday following liftoff from New Zealand. Carrying satellites from the United States, Japan and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1657,2021,2139,291,1608,159,2140,2141],"class_list":["post-12373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-airbus-defense-and-space","tag-canon","tag-ce-sat-1b","tag-commercial-space","tag-cubesats","tag-earth-observation","tag-faraday-1","tag-in-space-missions"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12373"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12373\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}