{"id":37299,"date":"2020-11-20T00:50:35","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T16:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-lab-raising-money-for-childrens-hospital-succeeds-with-first-stage-recovery\/"},"modified":"2020-11-20T00:50:35","modified_gmt":"2020-11-19T16:50:35","slug":"rocket-lab-raising-money-for-childrens-hospital-succeeds-with-first-stage-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-lab-raising-money-for-childrens-hospital-succeeds-with-first-stage-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab, raising money for children\u2019s hospital, succeeds with first stage recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rocket Lab is preparing to launch its sixth mission of 2020 \u2014 a launch which the company calls its \u201cmost diverse mission yet,\u201d with 30 satellites onboard and a launch broadcast that will raise money for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Starship children\u2019s hospital.<\/p>\n

Electron will blast off from LC-1A on New Zealand\u2019s M\u0101hia Peninsula.  The launch is targeted for 20 November UTC at 02:20 UTC, 15:20 NZT, or 19 November at 21:20 EST; the launch window is open for 2 hours 50 minutes. <\/p>\n

The company will attempt a water landing of Electron\u2019s first stage for the first time, with the mission named \u201cReturn to Sender<\/em>\u201d \u2014 a nod to this first milestone on the road to successfully recovering and reusing Electron.<\/p>\n

Payload Overview<\/b><\/p>\n

Return to Sender<\/em> will set a record for the amount of satellites launched on a single Electron mission.  Thirty payloads will be launched into a sun-synchronous orbit approximately 500 kilometers above Earth.<\/p>\n

TriSept will debut their DRAGRACER mission, which is designed to eliminate space debris by speeding up the reentry process for spacecraft.  Two 6U cubesats (a 1U cubesat being 10 by 10 by 10 centimeters) designed by Millenium Space Systems will be deployed during the mission: a reference satellite and a satellite with a 70 meter long tether designed to increase drag.<\/p>\n

It is expected that the spacecraft equipped with the tether will deorbit after approximately 45 days instead of the usual 7 to 9 years it would take a satellite to passively deorbit from an approximately 500 km orbit.<\/p>\n

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Return to Sender\u2019s payload, completely integrated. Credit: Rocket Lab<\/p>\n

Unseenlabs will launch their next two BRO satellites, BRO-2 and 3.  These 6U cubesats specialize in maritime surveillance: monitoring illegal activities at sea and locating Radio Frequency (RF) emitters anywhere on Earth.  The French company previously launched their first BRO satellite with Rocket Lab in August 2019 and anticipate launching about 17 more satellites to complete their planned constellation.<\/p>\n

Aerospace & Defense<\/path>NASA mission updates<\/path>Space Technology<\/path>\n

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Swam Technologies will launch 24 more of their SpaceBEE data relay satellites.  These extremely small 1\/4U cubesats are designed to provide satellite communications to remote areas on Earth.<\/p>\n

New Zealand\u2019s first student-built spacecraft, called APSS-1, will also be hitching a ride on Electron.  According to Rocket Lab, the University of Auckland\u2019s satellite \u201cis designed to monitor electrical activity in Earth\u2019s upper atmosphere to test whether ionospheric disturbances can predict earthquakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the 30 objects launched into space, all but one will remain in orbit.  The exception is a mass simulator named Gnome Chompski, a 3D printed gnome.  The character is an homage to software company Valve\u2019s \u201cHalf-Life\u201d series and will eventually burn up in Earth\u2019s atmosphere when Electron\u2019s kick stage ends its mission.<\/p>\n

In addition to validating 3D printing technology, the payload serves another important mission: Valve\u2019s president Gabe Newell will donate $1 (US) to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Starship children\u2019s hospital for every person who watches the launch online at  www.rocketlabusa.com\/live-stream (linked in article below) and www.twitch.tv\/RocketLabUSA.<\/p>\n

Launch Vehicle Overview<\/b><\/p>\n

Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron is a two or three stage liquid fueled rocket designed to launch small satellites into orbit.  It stands 17 meters tall and has a diameter of 1.2 meters.<\/p>\n

Electron\u2019s first stage is powered by nine Rutherford engines that are unique in that they are the first rocket engines to use electric-driven turbopumps and are almost entirely 3D printed. <\/p>\n

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Gnome Chompski will ride to space on Electron\u2019s kick stage. Credit: Rocket Lab<\/p>\n

The second stage is powered by a single vacuum-optimized Rutherford engine.  All Rutherford engines run on rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX).<\/p>\n

Electron can be flown with a third stage, also called the kick stage.  Although Rocket Lab advertises this stage as \u201coptional,\u201d almost all missions, including Return to Sender,<\/em> have utilized the kick stage as it is very useful for deploying multiple satellites into different orbits. <\/p>\n

See Also<\/h4>\n
    \n
  • Electron Flight 17 UPDATES<\/li>\n
  • Rocket Lab Electron Forum Section<\/li>\n
  • L2 Master Section<\/li>\n
  • Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    This precision is a big selling point of Rocket Lab\u2019s, as rideshare payloads on larger rockets often have to settle for whatever orbit the primary payload is deployed into.<\/p>\n

    Recovery Overview<\/b><\/p>\n

    For the first time, Rocket Lab will attempt a controlled landing of Electron\u2019s first stage.  After stage separation, thrusters mounted on Electron\u2019s interstage will orient the stage to reenter engines first.  The company calls this reentry process \u201cthe wall,\u201d due to the \u201cincredible heat and pressure\u201d the rocket will face during its descent.<\/p>\n

    Once the stage decelerates below Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound, a drogue parachute will help slow the stage further.  Once Electron\u2019s first stage has reached a safe speed, a larger main parachute will take over, enabling a \u201csoft\u201d water landing at around 10 meters per second, or 22 miles per hour.<\/p>\n

    A Rocket Lab ship will retrieve the stage from the water and transport it back to land.  The company does not plan to re-fly this stage if it is successfully recovered; instead, it will be taken apart and inspected by a team of engineers.<\/p>\n

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    Return to Sender\u2019s mission profile. Credit: Rocket Lab<\/p>\n

    Although the company plans to broadcast views from the first stage during the mission, they expect to lose live coverage once the stage goes over the horizon from their launch site and the job of telemetry collection is handed off to recovery teams.<\/p>\n

    In the future, Rocket Lab plans to pluck falling stages out of the air using a helicopter. This process has been successfully tested several times and will be attempted on a later launch \u2014 not necessarily the next one.<\/p>\n

    In addition to helicopter tests, Rocket Lab has successfully conducted a controlled reentry of Electron\u2019s first stage on two previous missions in December 2019 and January 2020.<\/p>\n

    Rocket Lab sees reusability not just as a cost-saving measure, but also as an important step to increasing their launch cadence.  The company could be the first small satellite launch provider to have a reusable launch system.<\/p>\n

    Preparations and Launch Timeline<\/b><\/p>\n

    As per usual, Rocket Lab conducted a successful wet dress rehearsal (WDR) of the Electron rocket designated for this mission.  During this process, the rocket was filled with fuel, simulating a normal countdown right up until engine ignition.<\/p>\n

    The countdown to launch began at T-6 hours when Rocket Lab\u2019s recovery vessel (named \u201cCatch of the Day\u201d) arrived on station off the M\u0101hia coast and conducted a check to determine if weather conditions were acceptable for recovery. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n