{"id":17456,"date":"2021-11-17T19:07:47","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T11:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-lab-launches-two-more-earth-observation-satellites-for-blacksky-and-tracks-a-falling-rocket\/"},"modified":"2021-11-17T19:07:47","modified_gmt":"2021-11-17T11:07:47","slug":"rocket-lab-launches-two-more-earth-observation-satellites-for-blacksky-and-tracks-a-falling-rocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-lab-launches-two-more-earth-observation-satellites-for-blacksky-and-tracks-a-falling-rocket\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab launches two more Earth observation satellites for BlackSky \u2014 and tracks a falling rocket"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full-width\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"378\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/211117-rocketlab2-630x378.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-655434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/211117-rocketlab2-630x378.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/211117-rocketlab2-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/211117-rocketlab2.jpg 1153w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption>Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron launch vehicle rises from its New Zealand launch pad. (Rocket Lab via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>BlackSky\u2019s Earth-watching constellation has grown by two satellites, thanks to Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron launch vehicle and Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc.\u2019s logistical help.<\/p>\n<p>Rocket Lab\u2019s previous BlackSky launch ended in failure back in May, but the launch team traced the problem to a computer glitch that was corrected. This week\u2019s mission, nicknamed \u201cLove at First Insight,\u201d went much more smoothly. It was the 22nd Rocket Lab launch, and the fifth since the start of the year.<\/p>\n<p>The two-stage rocket rose from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand\u2019s Mahia Peninsula at 2:38 p.m. local time Nov. 18 (5:48 p.m. PT Nov. 17), successfully deploying BlackSky\u2019s eighth and ninth satellite about an hour later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPerfect flight by the team,\u201d Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck tweeted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother great launch in the books,\u201d Spaceflight Inc., which handled mission management and integration services for BlackSky\u2019s satellites, said in a tweet. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Electron launches \u201cLove At First Insight\u201d\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/471JoJ544P4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>After stage separation, the Electron\u2019s first-stage booster descended to a parachute-aided splashdown as a helicopter watched it fall and conducted communications tests in the recovery zone. \u201cBest seat in the house,\u201d Beck wrote in a tweet that included a view from the helicopter. <\/p>\n<p>The exercise was part of Rocket Lab\u2019s effort to develop a system for recovering and reusing its boosters. \u201cWe are all excited to move on to the next phase of reusability next year, catching Electron in the air with a helicopter,\u201d Beck said in a post-launch news release.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia-based BlackSky became a publicly traded company in September, under the ticker symbol BKSY. Its Gen-2 satellites are built in Tukwila, Wash., by LeoStella, a joint venture involving BlackSky (formerly known as Spaceflight Industries) and Thales Alenia Space.<\/p>\n<p>BlackSky is aiming to fill out a constellation of 30 satellites by 2025 to feed frequently updated multispectral imagery to its AI-enabled software platform for geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith this launch, $BKSY remains on plan to grow its constellation by between two and four additional satellites by the end of 2021,\u201d BlackSky tweeted. \u201cThe future of real time #GEOINT has never looked brighter!\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron launch vehicle rises from its New Zealand launch pad. (Rocket Lab via YouTube) BlackSky\u2019s Earth-watching constellation has grown by two satellites, thanks to Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron launch vehicle and Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc.\u2019s logistical help. Rocket Lab\u2019s previous BlackSky launch ended in failure back in May, but the launch team traced the problem [&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":[404,2128,544,20,442,2340],"class_list":["post-17456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-blacksky","tag-blacksky-global","tag-rocket-lab","tag-satellite","tag-satellites","tag-spaceflight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17456"}],"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=17456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17456\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}