{"id":38525,"date":"2018-03-08T00:42:34","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T16:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-lab-to-capitalize-on-test-flight-success-with-first-operational-mission\/"},"modified":"2018-03-08T00:42:34","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T16:42:34","slug":"rocket-lab-to-capitalize-on-test-flight-success-with-first-operational-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-lab-to-capitalize-on-test-flight-success-with-first-operational-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab to capitalize on test flight success with first operational mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rocket Lab is preparing for its first operational flight of their Electron rocket from its launch site on the&nbsp;Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. &nbsp;The mission will capitalize on the highly successful test flight of Electron in January, which saw the unexpected and previously unannounced launch of the Humanity Star payload as well as the planned debut of Electron\u2019s Curie kick-stage (third stage).<\/p>\n<p><b>Electron \u2013 from testing to operational flights:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Rocket Lab\u2019s successful flight of the \u201cStill Testing\u201d Electron rocket from New Zealand in January has paved the way for the company to begin operational flights of their revolutionary smallsat launcher.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStill Testing\u201d was the second Electron to fly following the inaugural launch of the vehicle on 25 May 2017. &nbsp;That maiden launch ended in a range safety-issued destruct command to the rocket after a ground systems issue prevented communication with the rocket, named \u201cIt\u2019s a Test\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Still Testing Launch - 01\/21\/2018\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eg5234BOED8?start=893&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>According to Rocket Lab\u2019s post-fight analysis of It\u2019s a Test\u2019s flight, the rocket actually performed perfectly and the issue that led to the flight\u2019s termination lay in a ground fault with a contractor\u2019s systems.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with NASASpaceflight\u2019s Chris Gebhardt, Peter Beck, Rocket Lab CEO, talked about the It\u2019s a Test flight, saying, \u201cSo on the first flight, we almost made it to orbit, so we got sort of 90% of all the data that we needed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe always wanted to build a launch vehicle on our first test flight that would represent our best attempt at a public production-ready vehicle. &nbsp;And it sort of bore out quite nicely. We got good data from the first flight and we validated a lot of our margin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Space Shuttle models<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>SpaceX launch tickets<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>Aerospace industry analysis<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p>Because the cause of the first flight\u2019s termination was not in anyway due to a malfunction on the rocket, the actual changes and differences between the first and second flights of Electron were quite insignificant.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50449\" class=\"wp-image-50449 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-21-at-00.48.55-e1520445016475.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1224\" height=\"1058\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-21-at-00.48.55-e1520445016475.png 1224w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-21-at-00.48.55-e1520445016475-350x303.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-21-at-00.48.55-e1520445016475-405x350.png 405w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-21-at-00.48.55-e1520445016475-768x664.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-21-at-00.48.55-e1520445016475-1170x1011.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1224px) 100vw, 1224px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-50449\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electron details, in the rocket\u2019s two stage configuration (without the Curie kick-stage). Credit: Rocket Lab<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe difference between flight one and flight two [was] almost nothing,\u201d said Mr. Beck. &nbsp;\u201cThere were software upgrades, and clearly we fixed issues with the ground systems for flight termination, but I there wasn\u2019t a huge delta between the vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And the same will generally hold true between flights two and three, the final test flight and the first operational flight, with Mr. Beck noting that some modifications will be made but that Rocket Lab is \u201cpretty much \u2026 locked in full production\u201d of Electron at this point.<\/p>\n<p>To this end, the second test flight, Still Testing, provided the team with additional data for review and validation while also launching Electron\u2019s first payloads into Earth orbit. &nbsp;But before those payloads made it to their destinations, Rocket Lab\u2019s launch team had to overcome a series of technical, weather, and range related safety issues that ultimately delayed Still Testing\u2019s launch six times between December 2017 and January 2018. <\/p>\n<p>During one of those attempts on 12 December (UTC), the count made it all the way to T-2secs with engine ignition before an on-pad abort occurred. &nbsp;The abort was traced to \u201crising liquid oxygen temperatures \u2013 the result of a LOX chilldown bleed schedule not compatible with the warm conditions of the day,\u201d noted a Rocket Lab update via the company\u2019s Twitter account.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Rocket Lab - Still Testing - Launch Attempt 12\/12\/2017\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F_oAGlhFezo?start=990&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid1\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat for us was, I mean, obviously, we didn\u2019t want to do it, but it was really business as usual,\u201d noted Mr. Beck. &nbsp;\u201cWe went through the engine reset process, and we were ready to go immediately, pretty much. It\u2019s quite a sophisticated machine and the propulsion, being electric turbopumped, shutting an engine down like that, it was no big deal. &nbsp;It didn\u2019t like the temperature of the liquid oxygen and did a safe shutdown. There was no big rework or anything on the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After a subsequent weather scrub and a ground electrical issue, Mr. Beck noted that the team decided it was best to stand down until after the start of the new year rather than continue to push forward around a holiday.<\/p>\n<p>When \u201cStill Testing\u201d launched on 21 January 2018 (UTC), the mission was a resounding success \u2013 with good weather, a perfectly functioning rocket that placed its payloads into Earth orbit, and the debut of Electron\u2019s optional Curie kick-stage (third stage).<\/p>\n<p>The need for the kick-stage stemmed from a decision made by Rocket Lab for the second stage engine to only perform a single burn instead of being restartable.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=955888000113688576&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2018%2F03%2Frocket-lab-capitalize-test-flight-success-first-operational-mission%2F&amp;sessionId=bd5a59a4f2066a96aeb20335c5ef17afa3249f4b&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\" data-tweet-id=\"955888000113688576\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783499110105763627=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Meet our new kick stage, as launched on #StillTesting. Powered by Rocket Lab&#8217;s new 3D printed Curie engine, it&#8217;s designed to circularize payload orbits and perform multiple burns to deploy numerous satellites into different orbits. https:\/\/t.co\/Hn0KrfVmDa pic.twitter.com\/ZTOszeTxdD<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) January 23, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe kind of made a philosophical decision in that we weren\u2019t going to do multiple burns on the second stage because what that does is it puts the second stage in orbit, in high orbit,\u201d said Mr. Beck. &nbsp;\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do here is launch frequently, and the way that we\u2019ve designed our trajectories is that the second stage will always go into a transfer orbit, which is a nice elliptical orbit, where it deorbits very quickly, and then we use the kick stage to do any orbit raising or circularization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This design was specifically chosen so that Rocket Lab would not put large second stages into orbit and would fly responsibly by deorbiting Electron\u2019s second stage quickly so as not to contribute significantly to the space debris environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe build this infrastructure in orbit in a sustainable way, and leaving second stages in high orbits is not really conducive to that. &nbsp;So what it means is \u2026 we\u2019re just putting a little Curie module up into orbit, and we also have deorbit capability on that, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the Curie kick-stage was a direct result of Rocket Lab talking to and listening to their customer base \u2013 who wanted to make sure that on ride share missions of Electron that all payloads were separate safely and not re-contact other small satellites launched\/deployed on that same mission.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55324\" class=\"wp-image-55324 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curie-kick-stage.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2476\" height=\"1048\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curie-kick-stage.jpg 2476w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curie-kick-stage-350x148.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curie-kick-stage-630x267.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curie-kick-stage-768x325.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curie-kick-stage-1920x813.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curie-kick-stage-1170x495.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2476px) 100vw, 2476px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-55324\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Curie kick-stage of Electron. (Credit: Rocket Lab)<\/p>\n<p>To this end, the Curie kick-stage\u2019s engine is restartable, allowing for satellite deployment, burn and reorientation of Curie, deployment of another satellite, burn and reorientation of the stage\u2026 and so on until all satellites are deployed \u2013 after which Curie burns its engine again and deorbits itself.<\/p>\n<p>The Curie kick-stage also ensures optimal placement of customer\u2019s satellites in orbit, including circularizing the orbit after the second stage drops off the kick-stage and satellites in an elliptical transfer orbit and raising the craft\u2019s orbital height to drop satellites off at different orbital altitudes.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, Curie is expected to fly on a majority of Electron\u2019s flights. &nbsp;\u201cThe only time we won\u2019t use it is for missions that just want to go to a transfer orbit and don\u2019t want a circular orbit or any kind of orbit-raising capability,\u201d said Mr. Beck. &nbsp;\u201cIn that case, if it\u2019s just a simple elliptical orbit, then we wouldn\u2019t use it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the Curie kick-stage is a new design, it shares a lot of commonality with the entire Electron vehicle. &nbsp;\u201cThe regulators and valves and separation systems are common right throughout the launch vehicle. No matter if it\u2019s a stage separation or a fairing separation, they\u2019re all the same device. &nbsp;So there\u2019s a lot of commonality and standard hardware, but it was an entirely new stage,\u201d noted Mr. Beck.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55327\" class=\"wp-image-55327 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"964\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron-.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron--350x176.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron--630x316.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron--768x386.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron--1170x587.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-55327\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Electron rocket on its sea-side launch pad on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. (Credit: Rocket Lab)<\/p>\n<p>During the Still Testing flight and the Curie kick-stage\u2019s debut, Electron delivered three previously known small satellites (Dove Pioneer and two Lemur-2 small sats) to orbit as well as one previously unknown payload \u2013 Humanity Star. <\/p>\n<p>Speaking on Humanity Star, Mr. Beck said, \u201cOne of the things that sparked my interest in space when I was young is &nbsp;my father took me outside and we [looked] up at the stars, and I saw a shooting star. And he explained to me that was in fact a satellite put up by man. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I started asking all these questions, \u2018Well, what are all these other stars here? &nbsp;Do they have planets, and do they have people?\u2019 And that really is what inspired my interest and my excitement for space. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole purpose of the Humanity Star project was do something that could reach out not just to a select few on the planet, but to anybody on the planet, irrespective of race, or religion, or financial status. &nbsp;It needed to be totally universal to try to inspire the kinds of things that inspired me as a young child.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55328\" class=\"wp-image-55328 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron-rollout.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron-rollout.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron-rollout-350x234.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron-rollout-524x350.jpg 524w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron-rollout-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron-rollout-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Electron-rollout-263x175.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-55328\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electron, inverted under its Transporter\/Erector\/Launcher, rolls to the pad for launch operations. (Credit: Rocket Lab)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat the whole purpose of the project was, was really to get everybody out looking up at the Humanity Star, but in actual fact looking past the Humanity Star and just absolutely realizing that we are just one species on a little rock floating through the universe. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd there\u2019s not too many good places to go right now, and perhaps we should really concentrate on looking after the species, rather than focusing on individual governments or individual countries. &nbsp;So really, the message there was just, go outside and look up. And realize that you are part of this giant universe, and we\u2019d better look after ourselves as a species, not just look after ourselves as an individual or a country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Operational flights to start soon:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>With its tests flights behind them, Rocket Lab is now preparing for the first operational flight of the Electron, which is expected to fly in the near future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur next flight is going to be a full commercial flight, and we\u2019re manifesting that as quickly as we can,\u201d said Mr. Beck. &nbsp;\u201cObviously we didn\u2019t manifest that before because it equally well could have been a test flight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The payload for this first operational flight, while not confirmed, is expected to be the Outerspace 1 and ISILaunch cubesats.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=963506085360357376&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2018%2F03%2Frocket-lab-capitalize-test-flight-success-first-operational-mission%2F&amp;sessionId=bd5a59a4f2066a96aeb20335c5ef17afa3249f4b&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\" data-tweet-id=\"963506085360357376\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783499110105763627=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Our third #Electron launch is coming up soon (launch window dates to be announced in coming weeks). But what to call this flight\u2026<img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83e\udd14\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/svg\/1f914.svg\"><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) February 13, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>No launch date target is currently available for this mission as manifesting of the entire 2018 flight scheduled continues, with Rocket Lab authorized through flight #8 and six Electrons and up to 100 Rutherford engines (total this year) in production\/pre-production at the company\u2019s Huntington Beach, CA, facility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve officially accelerated into full commercial operations, so we\u2019re trying to manifest flight three in a really short time frame. &nbsp;And then flight four is a NASA flight, a NASA VCLS flight. And then going on out into the rest of the year, we have a range of flights from various customers, from Spaceflight Services, Planet Labs, and a whole bunch of other customers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll make an announcement in due course, but we\u2019re just working through the manifesting process right now and locking everything in for the year so that we can deliver on clearing out some of the backlog for our customers,\u201d said Mr. Beck.<\/p>\n<p>(This is the first of two articles regarding Rocket Lab based on Chris Gebhardt\u2019s interview with Peter Beck. &nbsp;The second part will be published next week.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rocket Lab is preparing for its first operational flight of their Electron rocket from its launch site on the&nbsp;Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. &nbsp;The mission will capitalize on the highly successful test flight of Electron in January, which saw the unexpected and previously unannounced launch of the Humanity Star payload as well as the planned [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38526,"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":[545,544],"class_list":["post-38525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-electron","tag-rocket-lab"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38525"}],"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=38525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}