{"id":12779,"date":"2019-12-13T01:55:35","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T17:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-lab-to-debut-virginia-launch-pad-with-u-s-air-force-mission-next-year\/"},"modified":"2019-12-13T01:55:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-12T17:55:35","slug":"rocket-lab-to-debut-virginia-launch-pad-with-u-s-air-force-mission-next-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-lab-to-debut-virginia-launch-pad-with-u-s-air-force-mission-next-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab to debut Virginia launch pad with U.S. Air Force mission next year"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:<\/strong> Updated at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) after press conference.<\/p>\n

\"\"
File photo of an Electron rocket lifting off from Rocket Lab\u2019s launch site in New Zealand, powered by nine liquid-fueled Rutherford engines. Credit: Rocket Lab \/ Andrew Burns & Simon Moffatt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rocket Lab plans to launch a research and development microsatellite mission for the U.S. Air Force in the first half of 2020 on the the first flight from the company\u2019s new launch facility on Virginia\u2019s Eastern Shore, officials announced Thursday.<\/p>\n

Company officials announced the payload and launch schedule Thursday during a media briefing at NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility to provide an update on Rocket Lab\u2019s first U.S. launch pad.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab, a U.S.-New Zealand company, has launched all 10 of its Electron rocket missions from the privately-owned Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, located on the eastern coast of New Zealand\u2019s North Island. The new facility in Virginia \u2014 designated Launch Complex 2 \u2014 will allow Rocket Lab to hasten its flight pace, providing a location to launch U.S. military and other government payloads, and adding an alternative launch site for company\u2019s commercial customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, just 10 months after we started construction on launch site 2, we\u2019re proud to call Wallops Island and Virginia our home,\u201d said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab\u2019s founder and CEO. \u201cWe\u2019re very proud to deliver a new launch capability to the United States. We\u2019re very proud to support U.S. missions with a U.S. launch vehicle from U.S. soil.\u201d<\/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 launch of Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron booster from Virginia is planned in the second quarter of 2020 \u2014 between the beginning of April and the end of June \u2014 with a research and development microsatellite for the U.S. Air Force, officials said Thursday. 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

\u201cIt\u2019s an honor and privilege to be launching a U.S. Air Force\u2019s Space Test Program payload as the inaugural mission from Launch Complex 2,\u201d said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab\u2019s founder and CEO, in a statement. \u201cWe\u2019ve already successfully delivered STP payloads on Electron from Launch Complex 1, and we\u2019re proud to be providing that same rapid, responsive, and tailored access to orbit from U.S. soil.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith the choice of two Rocket Lab launch sites offering more than 130 launch opportunities each year, our customers enjoy unmatched control over their launch schedule and orbital requirements,\u201d Beck said. \u201cRocket Lab has made frequent, reliable and responsive access to space the new normal for small satellites.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The satellite assigned to launch on the first Electron flight from the United States is named Monolith. 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, according to Air Force Lt. Col. Meagan Thrush, program element monitor for space launch and control.<\/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\u2019s two-stage Electron launcher stands around 55 feet (17 meters) tall and measures 3.9 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter. Powered by 3D-printed Rutherford engines, the kerosene-fueled rocket can lift up to 330 pounds of payload into a 310-mile-high (500-kilometer) polar sun-synchronous orbit.<\/p>\n

A dedicated Electron launch sells for as low as $7 million, significantly lower than the price of flights on larger rockets. The Electron is designed to give small satellites their own ride into orbit. 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

\u201cLaunch Complex 2 gives us the capability to support directly a wide variety of government and commercial missions,\u201d Beck said. \u201cThe launch site is primarily being designed to support government missions with additional security and capabilities, but LC-1 will remain our high-volume launch site for a majority of commercial missions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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File photo of an Electron launch from New Zealand. Credit: Trevor Mahlmann\/Rocket Lab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cRocket Lab\u2019s launch site at the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, strengthens the United States\u2019 ability to provide responsive and reliable access to space,\u201d said Col. Robert Bongiovi, director of the launch enterprise directorate at the Air Force\u2019s Space and Missile Systems Center.<\/span> \u201cWe look forward to Rocket Lab successfully launching the STP-27RM mission from Launch Complex 2 next spring, which will test new capabilities that we will need in the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rocket Lab\u2019s Launch Complex 2 facility is located at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, adjacent to pad 0A used to launch Northrop Grumman\u2019s Antares rockets on resupply missions to the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

The Antares launcher is more than twice the height of Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron rocket, but Rocket Lab\u2019s launch manifest projections suggest the Electron will fly from Wallops much more often than the Antares\u2019 regular launch cadence of two flights per year.<\/p>\n

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport is run by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, or Virginia Space, an organization created by the Virginia legislature to promote commercial space activity within the commonwealth. The spaceport now has three orbital-class launch facilities, one for Rocket Lab, one for the Antares rocket, and another used to launch solid-fueled Minotaur boosters.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab says construction of Launch Complex 2, which sits inside the perimeter fence of the Antares launch pad, started in February and was completed in 10 months. The new pad is designed to support up to 12 launches per year, including \u201crapid call-up\u201d missions, giving the military a quick-response launch option, according to Rocket Lab.<\/p>\n

Officials Thursday did not define whether the rapid call-up capability would mean Electron launches within days, weeks or months of tasking by the U.S. military.<\/p>\n

Engineers developed the new launch pad based on the design of Rocket Lab\u2019s Launch Complex 1 facility in New Zealand, with a few upgrades to make it easier to maintain and operate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we set a U.S. (speed) record for building a launch pad , and I suspect a world record,\u201d said Dale Nash, CEO and executive director of Virginia Space. \u201cIt is smaller than launch pad A (used for Antares), but it\u2019s really not any less complex.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the differences between Rocket Lab\u2019s launch pad in New Zealand and the one in Virginia is in the launch mount.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe launch mount itself in New Zealand will roll,\u201d Nash said Thursday. \u201cHere, it doesn\u2019t. The rocket will roll on and roll off. The Integration and Control Facility, where they will process the rockets, is built so that you never have to lift the rocket. It can roll from the processing (facility) into the trailer, go out to the pad and stand up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opening of Launch Complex 2 is a significant milestone and a remarkable achievement made possible by the strong partnership with Rocket Lab and NASA,\u201d Nash said in a statement. \u201cAlmost immediately after Rocket Lab\u2019s selection of MARS as its U.S. launch site, engineers, managers and technicians worked tirelessly together across multiple time zones and two continents to make LC-2 a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that we have an operational launch site less than a year after construction began is testament to the hard work and dedication of the Virginia Space and NASA teams, as well as the unwavering support of our local suppliers,\u201d said Shaun D\u2019Mello, Rocket Lab\u2019s vice president of launch.<\/p>\n

\"\"
This Oct. 29 image of a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket on pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport shows the black strongback structure at Rocket Lab\u2019s neighboring Launch Complex 2 facility. Credit: NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rocket Lab launched six missions in 2019, and officials aim to achieve a more rapid launch cadence next year, with launches as often as every two weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, Electron was the fourth-most frequently launched vehicle in the world,\u201d Beck said. \u201cWe\u2019ve delivered 47 satellites to orbit so far, so we\u2019re really excited to increase this cadence and this history here at LC-2.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company says more than 150 local construction workers and contractors were involved in the development of Launch Complex 2 in Virginia. The 66-ton launch platform and 7.6-ton strongback were supplied by Steel America, a Virginia-based company.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab\u2019s Integration and Control Facility, or ICF, at the nearby Wallops Research Park will support payload and launch vehicle processing before liftoff. The processing facility will also be home to a launch control center and office space.<\/p>\n

Up to four Electron rockets will be housed at the ICF at one time, D\u2019Mello said. The rockets will initially be transported to Wallops from Rocket Lab\u2019s factory in Auckland, New Zealand, and future vehicles will be shipped from the company\u2019s plant in Huntington Beach, California, as production ramps up there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will then be able to have Electrons in standby, truly ready for their call to orbit on a short and responsive notice,\u201d D\u2019Mello said.<\/p>\n

The company says it expects to employ up to 30 people at the Virginia launch site in engineering, launch safety and administrative positions in the coming year.<\/p>\n

With the launch pad construction complete, teams at Wallops are beginning checkouts and testing ahead of the first Electron launch campaign. One of the first tests will involve flowing super-cold fluid through the launch pad\u2019s plumbing to verify it can handle cryogenic propellants used by the Electron rocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to go into the cryo shock (testing), meaning we will chill the system down beginning with liquid nitrogen next week,\u201d Nash said. \u201cYou learn what works and what doesn\u2019t. Hopefully, there are not many things that don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: Updated at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) after press conference. File photo of an Electron rocket lifting off from Rocket Lab\u2019s launch site in New Zealand, powered by nine liquid-fueled Rutherford engines. Credit: Rocket Lab \/ Andrew Burns & Simon Moffatt Rocket Lab plans to launch a research and development microsatellite mission for the […]<\/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":[291,545,25,1697,1698,257,544,885],"class_list":["post-12779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-commercial-space","tag-electron","tag-launch","tag-launch-complex-2","tag-mid-atlantic-regional-spaceport","tag-military-space","tag-rocket-lab","tag-space-test-program"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12779"}],"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=12779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}