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Starting Spaceflight Rocket Lab will launch three small satellites for the United States Air Force early Saturday morning (May 4), and you can watch the action live.
An Electron rocket is due to take off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand launch site on Saturday at 14:00 EDT (6:00 GMT, 6:00 PM New Zealand local time) to launch STP-27RD. Watch it live here at Space.com courtesy of Rocket Lab, or directly via the company.
STP-27RD add three R & D payloads for the Air Force space test program (which explains the name of the mission).
Related: In photos: Rocket Lab and its electron thruster
Cubesat-1 Space Plug-and-Play architecture research software (SPARC-1) will advance the development of miniature avionics, among other equipment. The Falcon Orbital Debris Experiment (ODE Falcon), also a cube, will help researchers assess the efficiency with which space wastes can be tracked from the ground. And the biggest Harbinger gear is aimed at demonstrating that a commercial construction satellite can meet certain requirements of the US Department of Defense, said representatives of Rocket Lab.
Together, the three satellites weigh more than 397 pounds. (180 kilograms), the heaviest load for the electron of 57 feet (17 meters) to date.
The launch tomorrow morning will be the sixth in total for Electron and its second flight in 2019. The last two-stage rocket flew for the last time in late March. lofted the experimental satellite R3D2 for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Rocket Lab aims to dramatically increase access to space using Electron, which can weigh approximately 500 lbs. (225 kg) with each takeoff of $ 5 million. There will be no rocket landing tomorrow: Electron is an expendable vehicle.
Mike Wall's book on the search for extraterrestrial life, "Over there"(Grand Central Publishing, 2018, illustrated by Karl Tate), is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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