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Update, 9:15 am: This story has been updated to confirm that the four satellites have been deployed successfully.
Private spaceflight company Rocket Lab has launched four new satellites in orbit during a dazzling pre-dawn takeoff for US Space Command and airlines in Seattle and France on Monday (August 19th).
Rocket Lab's two-stage Electron booster jumped into space at 8:12 am EDT (12:12 GMT) from the company's launch site in the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand, where the hour local was on Tuesdays at 12:12. The launch was delayed by three days due to strong winds on the launch pad.
Everything went smoothly with the actual launch and the rocket deployed the four satellites before 9:15 am EDT, Rocket Lab confirmed in a tweet.
All payloads deployed! There are now eight Electron launches to date and a total of 39 satellites delivered into orbit #LookMaNoHands #OpeningAccessToSpace pic.twitter.com/svO0oCDWg5August 19, 2019
Monday's launch, nicknamed "Look Ma, No Hands", puts into orbit four very different satellites. A cubesat managed by the French company UnseenLabs is the first in a planned constellation of small maritime surveillance satellites for ocean monitoring.
The remaining satellite flight was organized by the Spaceflight carpooling provider. These payloads include a terrestrial imagery satellite for the BlackSky constellation in Seattle for intelligence purposes, and two experimental technology demonstration satellites for the US Air Force Command. -United.
Rocket Lab participated in its eighth launch of Electron, dubbed "Look Ma, No Hands" on August 19, 2019.
(Image credit: Rocket Lab)
Air Force satellites are "designed to test new technologies, including propulsion, power, communication, and drag capabilities, for potential applications on future spacecraft," said the Rocket. Lab in a statement.
"Look Ma, No Hands" is the eighth launch of Electron for Rocket Lab since 2017.
The launch of Monday also marked the second electronic flight of Rocket Lab with a new data logger to monitor the first leg of his flight. This will contribute to the company's goal of extracting rockets with the help of a helicopter.
Rocket Lab's recovery plan for rockets is very different from the typical approach of SpaceX or Blue origin, as their rockets or thrusters land vertically on drones or on the ground.
The company began using the data logger on Electrons during its June 29th launchRocket Lab, nicknamed "Make It Rain", to "inform future recovery efforts" said in a statement earlier in August.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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