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SpaceX is perhaps the world's leading commercial spaceflight – and gets a lot of attention because of that – but it's not the only private company to get a share of the pie. Rocket Lab, founded in 2006, also offers commercial space flights, and its Electron rocket has already delivered satellites into the space for paying customers.
It was planned to launch an Electron rocket again today, but the event was swept at the last minute due to an uncooperative Nature Lady. The launch, which would have been done from the company's launch site in New Zealand, will be postponed to a later date.
The launch was scheduled for a 9:29 EDT takeoff, but a company tweet shortly before the scheduled departure announced the delay. The company noted that surface winds were about 30% higher than the upper threshold of launching a rocket.
If the launch had taken place as planned, the Electron rocket would have delivered a total of four satellites in Earth orbit. These satellites are part of contracts with customers Unseen Labs and Spaceflight, Inc.
The company plans to launch as soon as possible, with other launch opportunities in the coming days. When the rocket is finally sent to the sky, it will be Electron's eighth launch for Rocket Lab.
Unlike SpaceX, Rocket Lab does not recover or reuse its rockets, but that will change in the near future. The company recently announced a roadmap on the reusability of its Electron launchers, which includes an in-flight recovery effort that will see a helicopter hook the first floor of the Electron rocket before it hits the ground, which will avoid damage and allow engineers to refurbish it. for future launches.
Image Source: Rocket Lab
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