Rocket Lab's Electron rocket streaks into the sky over Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand in this long exposure image. Credit: Rocket Lab
The fourth and last spacecraft in BlackSky's initial flock of commercial Earth-imaging microsatellites successfully launched Monday aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket with three other payloads, setting the stage for the final assembly and at least 20 more BlackSky orbiting monitoring platforms year.
The 123-pound (56-kilogram) BlackSky Global 4 spacecraft lifted off aboard Rocket Lab's kerosene-fueled Electron booster at 1212 GMT (8:12 am EDT) Monday, riding with orbit with three CubeSats – two for the US Air Force and one for the French startup UnSeenLabs.
Powered by nine Rutherford engines generating nearly 50,000 pounds of thrust, the 55-foot-tall (17-meter) Electron launcher climbed through a cloud deck and arced east from Rocket's Labs Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, a local on the eastern coastline of New Zealand's North Island.
Liftoff occurred at 12:12 am local time Tuesday in New Zealand.
The privately-developed rocket shed its first stage around two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff. A data recorder has been programmed to capture information on the first stage's re-entry, informing Rocket Lab's initiative – announced earlier this month – to eventually recover and reuse Electron boosters.
A Rutherford engine on the Electron's second stage fired more than six minutes to place the rocket and its four satellite passengers into a preliminary transfer orbit. The second stage deployed at Curie kick stage, which fired some 50 minutes into the mission to reach a target orbit around 335 miles (540 kilometers) above Earth, with an inclination of 45 degrees to the equator.
All the spacecraft assembled on the Curie kick stage separated moments, and Rocket Lab's CEO Peter Beck said the mission reached a "perfect orbit."
Spaceflight, a Seattle-based company that aggregates small satellites on rideshare missions.
The fourth spacecraft in BlackSky's fleet of commercial Earth-observing microsatellites also launched on the Electron rocket, joining two satellites launched last year. mission June 29.
Monday's launch was timed to space the BlackSky Global 4 satellite into a specific slot in orbit related to the Global 3 satellite launched in June.
BlackSky is a sister company of Spaceflight, which aims to build a fleet of Earth-imaging satellites to enable frequent revisits over the same location to help analysts identify changes over short time cycles.
"Beck said in a statement." "Every mission is a privilege, but it's just one of the most important things you can do for BlackSky Global satellite for Spaceflight.
"This mission was also another exciting step towards our plans to recover Electron's first stage in future missions," Beck said. "The team is eagerly analyzing the data as we work towards reusability."
Here's a replay of Rocket Lab's Electron launcher in the midnight of the North Island of New Zealand. https://t.co/CCHXArpm98 pic.twitter.com/v1OBkGq5cB
Nick Merski, BlackSky's Vice President of Space Operations, said the BlackSky Global 4 satellite contacted ground controllers as expected after Monday's launch.
"It was a fantastic launch this morning," Merski said in an interview with Spaceflight Now. "Everything went really smooth.
"We had an acquisition on our first plan and have been moving our commissioning exactly on plan," he said Monday. "Everything from the launch vehicle to the satellite commissioning has been right on track for today, so it's a good day for us."
The first batch of BlackSky's satellite surveillance weighs around 123 pounds (56 kilograms), and each spacecraft can capture up to 1,000 color images per day, with a resolution of about 3 feet (1 meter).
Merski said BlackSky started collecting imagery for customers in May. The first two satellites would be launched to provide a "foundation" for the BlackSky fleet, while subsequent launches would primarily place satellites into mid-inclination orbits.
"He said," We are doing the first four months in 2019, and we are starting to deliver data commercially from our first two satellites in May, "he said.
With the BlackSky Global 4 satellite now in orbit, BlackSky will start a new set of 20 privately-funded optical satellite surveillance built in Washington by LeoStella, a joint venture between BlackSky's parent company Spaceflight Industries and Thales Alenia Space, a European satellite manufacturer.
BlackSky holds a contract with the National Reconnaissance Office, which owns the U.S. government's spy satellites, to allow government analysts to evaluate the utility of commercial imagery in intelligence-gathering and overhead surveillance.
The next 20 satellites will be roughly the same size, but they have some upgrades, Merski said.
"The next one is going to be launched, planned for the end of the year, and those are the first of our production contract," he said. "Those are going to be the first ones who are going to be developed by LeoStella, and they are kicked off."
The next four BlackSky satellites are expected to launch on India's new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, based on regulatory filings with the Federal Communications Commission.
The next block of BlackSky satellites will produce the same quality 1-meter resolution images as the first four.
"But we've made a number of things that are related to manufacturing, how quickly they can be produced, how easy it is to calibrate them and test them on orbit," Merski said. "We have really taken advantage of the design and the ability to use the next generation of satellites."
BlackSky Introduced Satellite Propulsion System on the Global 4 Satellite launched Monday.
"Global 5 through 24 will feature a new payload, which we will be able to calibrate to a little bit faster and more quickly to our commissioning timeline in space," Merski said.
BlackSky's short-term plan is to build, launch and maintain a constellation of at least 16 satellites. If there is enough customer interest, the company could expand that fleet to 60 or more spacecraft, which would give users an updated view of any location on a populated land mass on Earth every 15 minutes or so.
Some of the early BlackSky satellites will eventually be retired, and the company's commitment to buy a joint venture will include orders for replacements.
"That 16-satellite (constellation) provides a service level that we're committed to, as a company, to carry on indefinitely," Merski said. "We're going to grow that beyond a 16-satellite capability."
With 16 satellites, BlackSky could provide customers with a refreshed image of the same location.
"If you think about population centers of interest, you'd be getting five-to-eight unique per day during the day (with 16 satellites," Merski said. "It's a fundamentally different type of capability than what) is commercially available today, which is what we're really excited about. "
Two experimental satellites for Air Force Space Command also flew into space on Monday's Electron rocket launch, which Rocket Lab nicknamed "Look Ma, No Hands."
The two 6U CubeSats are part of Air Force Space Command's "Pearl White" technology demonstration program. The two CubeSats were built and will be operated by Tiger Innovations, a company based in Washington, D.C.'s Virginia suburbs.
"The demonstration will test new technologies including propulsion, power, communications, and future capabilities of potential applications on future spacecraft," the Air Force said in a statement. The mission is set to last one year.
A French startup named UnseenLabs also launched its first satellite on the Rocket Lab Electron booster. The briefcase-sized six-unit CubeSat, named Bro-1, was built by the Danish smallest manufacturer GomSpace.
The Bro-1 mission is the first spacecraft in a planned constellation of CubeSats for maritime surveillance. UnseenLabs says its fleet of nanosatellites will be able to locate and identify ships around the world, providing tracking services for maritime operators and helping security forces watch for pirates and smugglers.
"Total success!" The company tweeted after Monday's launch. "Bro-1 is fully alive and already talking with us! Ready to deliver valuable data to our customers. Another big step for UnSeenLabs, who becomes the first French private CubeSat operator in space! "
Monday's mission was the eighth flight of Rocket Lab's Electron vehicle, and the fourth this year. Rocket Lab plans another launch as soon as possible, but officials have not identified what satellites will be aboard.
