{"id":12378,"date":"2020-07-03T17:05:25","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T09:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-lab-plans-next-launch-saturday-closes-in-on-first-mission-from-virginia\/"},"modified":"2020-07-03T17:05:25","modified_gmt":"2020-07-03T09:05:25","slug":"rocket-lab-plans-next-launch-saturday-closes-in-on-first-mission-from-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-lab-plans-next-launch-saturday-closes-in-on-first-mission-from-virginia\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab plans next launch Saturday, closes in on first mission from Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The Electron rocket for Rocket Lab\u2019s next mission. Credit: Rocket Lab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rocket Lab is readying for a launch from its New Zealand spaceport Saturday (U.S. time) with seven commercial satellites from Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, while teams at Wallops Island, Virginia, move closer to Rocket Lab\u2019s first launch there as soon as August.<\/p>\n

The mission Sunday will take off from Rocket Lab\u2019s primary privately-run spaceport on Mahia Peninsula, located on the east coast of New Zealand\u2019s North Island. The 50-minute launch window Saturday opens at 2113 GMT (5:13 p.m. EDT), or at 9:13 a.m. Sunday in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

A forecast for high winds and heavy rain caused Rocket Lab to delay the mission from Friday to Sunday, but the company later said it would attempt a launch Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurprise! We\u2019ve brought launch forward by a day as the weather is terrible through most of next week,\u201d Rocket Lab tweeted. \u201cLaunches don\u2019t often move to the left, but we\u2019re going to give it our best shot. There\u2019s still a relatively high chance we\u2019ll need to stand down and wait for better weather though.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab has nicknamed the launch \u201cPics Or It Didn\u2019t Happen\u201d in a nod to the mission of most of the payloads: Earth-imaging.<\/p>\n

The seven satellites on-board will be deployed into a 310-mile-high (500-kilometer) sun-synchronous orbit.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab\u2019s 55-foot-tall (17-meter) Electron rocket will launch the seven satellites, including the second Earth-imaging spacecraft for Canon Electronics. Named CE-SAT-1B, the 147-pound (67-kilogram) satellite is shaped like a cube, and measures a bit larger than a dorm room refrigerator.<\/p>\n

Its imaging system will be able to resolve objects on the ground as small as about 3 feet, or 90 centimeters, according to Canon.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThis launch is very critical for Canon Electronics as we are launching a satellite where we have remarkably increased the ratio of in-house development of components compared to the previous launch,\u201d said Nobutada Sako, group executive of Canon Electronics\u2019 Satellite Systems Lab. \u201cPartnering with Spaceflight on this mission has been very helpful and we look forward to a successful launch of our satellites.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spaceflight has also reserved capacity on a Rocket Lab Electron launch later this year for Canon\u2019s CE-SAT-2B Earth-imaging satellite, another member of Canon\u2019s growing fleet of spacecraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to getting these next generation Canon spacecraft on orbit and helping them kickstart their constellation,\u201d said Curt Blake, CEO and president of Spaceflight. \u201cOur ability to find the most expedient rides to space for our customers is critical, especially when their business plans require a frequent cadence of launches. Offering end-to-end launch services across multiple launch vehicles gives our customers flexibility, along with confidence that we will get them where they want to go, aligned with their schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

CE-SAT-1B is Canon\u2019s second satellite, following the launch of the CE-SAT-1 demonstration mission in 2017 aboard an Indian PSLV rocket. Canon said CE-SAT-1 carried imaging detectors based on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and Canon PowerShot S110 cameras.<\/p>\n

Canon says it will also test CE-SAT-1B\u2019s imaging capabilities once in orbit, and demonstrate the satellite\u2019s design for mass production.<\/p>\n

Five SuperDove Earth observation nanosatellites from Planet will also ride into orbit on Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron rocket Sunday. The SuperDoves are advanced versions of Planet\u2019s medium-resolution Dove satellites, and are each about the size of a shoebox.<\/p>\n

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 launching with Rocket Lab are part of Planet\u2019s \u201cFlock 4e\u201d batch of nanosatellites.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Rocket Lab\u2019s mission patch for the next Electron launch. Credit: Rocket Lab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other payload on Rocket Lab\u2019s next launch is 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

The Faraday line of satellites will each host multiple tiny payloads from a range of companies. Faraday 1 is packed with payloads, and will embark on a six-month demonstration mission, then enter a commercial service phase when the CubeSat will operate experiments and tech demos supplied by customers of In-Space Missions.<\/p>\n

Airbus Defense and Space is testing a software-defined radio payload that can be remotely reprogrammed in orbit. Other payloads on Faraday 1 will 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

\u201cWe have been working on this pioneering mission for nearly two years, from concept to this point, and can\u2019t wait for launch,\u201d said Doug Liddle, CEO of In-Space Missions. \u201cIt has been exciting working with such a broad spectrum of commercial customers and we were very encouraged by the diversity of the payloads on our first launch.\u201d<\/p>\n

The launch Saturday will be Rocket Lab\u2019s third mission of the year, and the second in less than a month. The U.S.-based smallsat launch company has resumed flight operations in New Zealand after standing down in March due to work restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab said last month it is building a new Electron launch vehicle every 18 days, and is on pace to conduct monthly launches through the rest of 2020 and into 2021. After Saturday\u2019s mission, next up for Rocket Lab will be another Electron flight from New Zealand with a radar observation craft for Capella Space, a San Francisco startup developing a fleet of commercial all-weather surveillance satellites.<\/p>\n

Teams do not plan to attempt a controlled re-entry with the Electron booster after it\u2019s job is done on Saturday\u2019s launch. Rocket Lab performed two re-entry experiments on missions in December and January to gather data for future attempts to recover and reuse the Electron first stage.<\/p>\n

An upgraded Electron booster configuration will debut later this year to begin the next phase of the recovery and reuse program.<\/p>\n

The first Rocket Lab launch from Wallops Island, Virginia, is now third in line on the company\u2019s flight manifest, according to Morgan Bailey, a Rocket Lab spokesperson. She said the first Electron launch from a new pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport \u2014 located on NASA-owned property at the Wallops Flight Facility \u2014 is expected in August or September.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Rocket Lab rolled an Electron rocket to its Launch Complex 2 facility in Virginia for the first time in March for testing. Credit: Rocket Lab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rocket Lab\u2019s pad at Wallops is designated Launch Complex 2, while the company\u2019s currently operating pad in New Zealand is Launch Complex 1A. A second pad on Mahia Peninsula named Launch Complex 1B is now under construction.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab has its corporate headquarters in Southern California, and operates two rocket factories in California and in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

The first Electron launch from U.S. soil will deliver the Monolith research and development microsatellite into orbit for the U.S. Air Force. The mission will be managed by the U.S. military\u2019s Space Test Program, which develops and launches scientific, experimental and technology demonstration satellites for the Defense Department.<\/p>\n

Managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, Monolith will demonstrate the ability for small satellites to support large aperture payloads. In the case of Monolith, the Air Force wants to test a space weather instrument package.<\/p>\n

The STP-27RM mission with the Monolith microsatellite is an extension of the Air Force\u2019s Rapid Agile Launch Initiative, or RALI, program. The Air Force established the RALI program to procure launch services more quickly and at lower cost than through the military\u2019s traditional launch acquisition schemes.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab officials have said the Wallops launch pad will be tailored for missions with U.S. government payloads, such as military satellites and NASA missions. The other mission in Rocket Lab\u2019s launch backlog with confirmed plans to launch from Wallops is NASA\u2019s CAPSTONE CubeSat mission, which will head into orbit around the moon.<\/p>\n

A dedicated Electron launch sells for as low as $7 million, significantly lower than the price of flights on larger rockets. The liquid-fueled Electron is designed to give small satellites their own ride into orbit, and is capable of lifting up to 330 pounds (150 kilograms) of payload into a 310-mile-high (500-kilometer) polar sun-synchronous orbit.<\/p>\n

Before smallsat launch companies like Rocket Lab, CubeSats and microsatellites typically launched as secondary payloads, with their orbital destinations and launch schedules at the whim of the demands of a larger mission.<\/p>\n

The Electron launcher for the first Rocket Lab flight from Wallops Island is currently at the Virginia spaceport. Earlier this year, engineers rolled the rocket to Launch Complex 2 and raised it vertical for the first time to begin a series of launch pad checkouts.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab is the second orbital-class launch provider operating at Wallops.<\/p>\n

Northrop Grumman launches the larger Antares rocket from the facility on Virginia\u2019s Eastern Shore on missions to resupply the International Space Station. The Minotaur rocket family, also managed by Northrop Grumman, also launches from Wallops Island.<\/p>\n

Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Electron rocket for Rocket Lab\u2019s next mission. Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab is readying for a launch from its New Zealand spaceport Saturday (U.S. time) with seven commercial satellites from Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, while teams at Wallops Island, Virginia, move closer to Rocket Lab\u2019s first launch there as soon […]<\/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-12378","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\/12378"}],"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=12378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12378\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}