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Rocket Lab Electron booster lifts off from New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula on Nov. 10, 2018, carrying six small satellites and a technology demonstrator to earth orbit. The launch, dubbed "It's Business Time," was Rocket Lab's first commercial mission.
Credit: Rocket Lab via Twitter
Rocket Lab is officially open for business.
The spaceflight startup's Electron rocket aced its first commercial flight tonight (Nov. 10), lofting six small satellites and a technology demonstrator to low-Earth orbit, about 310 miles (500 kilometers) above our planet.
The mission, which Rocket Lab called "It's Business Time," was released at 10:50 pm EST (0350 GMT and 4:50 pm local New Zealand time on Nov. 11). The two-stage Electron first delivered its payloads to an elliptical parking orbit; Rocket Lab representatives said, "kick stage", which was broken down into the rocket 's stage. [In Photos: Rocket Lab and Its Electron Booster]
"All payloads deployed, it's really time business," Rocket Lab representatives said tonight via Twitter.
All payloads deployed. It really is Business Time.
– Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) November 11, 2018
The six satellites that rode atop the Electron tonight belong to Spire Global, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Fleet Space Technologies and the Irvine CubeSat STEM Program. The technology demonstrator is a "drag-sail," a piece of gear designed to increase the size of the world by helping de-orbit defunct spacecraft faster and more efficiently.
Rocket Lab aims to make spaceflight more frequent and cost-effective with the 57-foot-tall (17 meters) Electron, which can loft about 500 lbs. (227 kilograms) of payload to Earth orbit on each of its $ 5 million liftoffs.
Electron has flown twice before, on the missions that launched in May of 2017 and January of this year. On the other side, "Still Testing," the rocket lofted small satellites to orbit – three Earth-observing cubesats for the Planet and Spire Global companies, and a 3-foot-wide (1m) reflective ball called The Humanity Star.
The Humanity Star was designed to be an inspiring temporary target for skywatchers around the world. And it was very temporary: The satellite fell back into Earth's atmosphere in March.
Tonight's launch was originally scheduled to take place in April, but the Rocket Lab has been delayed, with a misbehaving motor controller in one of the Electron's first-stage engines and other issues.
Electron launch, if all goes according to plan. Another Electron is scheduled to launch 10 tiny cubesats in December, on a mission for NASA called ELaNa-XIX (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites No. 19).
Rocket Lab's primary launch is on the Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand's North Island. But the company will also fly from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia; The first missions from the U.S. pad could come as early as, Rocket Lab representatives said.
The company recently unveiled a huge new rocket-production facility in Auckland, New Zealand, which will help you build up enough Electrons to keep up with the envisioned high demand. Rocket Lab also has a manufacturing facility at its headquarters in Huntington Beach, California.
Mike Wall's book on the search for alien life, "Out There" will be published on Nov. 13 by Grand Central Publishing. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom gold Facebook. Originally published on Space.com.
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