Rocket Lab has rolled out the first Electron rocket that will lift off from Launch Complex 2 (LC-2), the company\u2019s launch site at Virginia\u2019s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS). Rocket Lab has also performed several tests on the rocket and ground equipment to verify pad systems. LC-2\u2019s maiden launch, carrying the sole payload of the STP-27RM mission, is set to take place in the third quarter of 2020.\n<\/p>\n
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2<\/p>\n
To help reduce the load on Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, and to allow Electron to reach different orbits, Rocket Lab began a search for where to construct a second launch complex. The new site \u2013 named Launch Complex 2 \u2013 would be located somewhere in the United States.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Rocket Lab narrowed down the search to four different sites: Kennedy Space Center, Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Pacific Spaceport Complex \u2013 Alaska, and MARS at Wallops Island, Virginia.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Rocket Lab decided on building LC-2 at MARS \u2013 primarily due to having lower launch traffic than other facilities, along with the ability to reach lower-inclination orbits.<\/p>\n
MARS has historically only launched one or two missions per year \u2013 leaving plenty of room on the range schedule for Electron to launch up to 12 times per year.<\/p>\n
LC-2 would be built next to the existing MARS Pad 0A, where Northrop Grumman\u2019s Antares rocket launches from.<\/p>\n