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The rocket has six satellites in orbitRocket Lab
Rocket Lab successfully launched its third rocket, its first fully commercial flight and a key milestone for the fledgling company.
Their Electron rocket, nicknamed "It's Business Time," took off yesterday at 10:50 pm from the company's launch complex 1, in the Maheia Peninsula, New Zealand. Nine minutes after the launch, the two-stage rocket was separating and the upper stage – called Curie – was pulling the satellites into their final orbit 500 kilometers from the Earth's surface.
"The world is waking up to the new normal," said Peter Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab, in a statement. "With the Electron launcher, fast and reliable access to space is now a reality for small satellites."
The rocket is just 17 meters tall, a quarter of the size of its larger siblings like the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. But with just $ 5.7 million in startup compared to $ 50 million for a Falcon 9, Rocket Lab hopes its rocket will be at the forefront of a new small launch field – cheaper rockets can be ready to take off more quickly.
This is the third launch of the company. He completed his first ("It's a test") in May 2017 and his second ("Still Testing") in January 2018. Business time was due to start in April this year, but various delays pushed the launch.
On board the rocket were six different satellites and seven payloads in total for various companies. One of them was a sailing drag demonstrator designed for space desorption in orbit. Called NABEO, it was developed in Germany by HSS GmbH (High Performance Space Structure Systems GmBH).
The drag demonstrator will remain attached to the upper stage of the rocket, called CurieRocket Lab
Also on board was an experiment conducted by students from six Irvine high schools in California, called Irvine01. This cubesat will take pictures of Venus and other celestial objects, and also has a new electric propulsion system on board.
There were two Lemur-2 cubesats on board, built by Spire Global in California, to monitor the weather and track planes on Earth. California's Cicero-10 meteorological satellite GeoOptics and two Proxima cubesats from Australia's Internet of Things, Fleet, were also launched.
"We are excited to be leading the small satellite launch sector by reaching an orbit a second time and deploying more payloads," Beck added. "The team has flown seamlessly with incredibly accurate orbital insertion."
This launch being completed, the company is already preparing for its next flight. In early December, he plans to launch the ELaNa 19 mission for NASA, his first flight for the US space agency, and an indicator that the company can launch regularly.
Rocket Lab, founded in 2006, wants to launch a rocket every month in 2019, then every two weeks from now until the end of 2019 and every week from now until 2020. The company's private launching pad in New Zealand, the first private pad launch in the world, is allowed to launch up to 120 rockets a year.
"I think this [launch] is an important step for the industry, "said Beck Forbes before the launch. "There is such a backlog of customers. For me, this is really the starting point. "
Now that It's Business Time is in its infancy, Rocket Lab can look to these upcoming launches, while seeking to consolidate its position as a leader in small launch vehicles.
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The rocket has six satellites in orbitRocket Lab
Rocket Lab successfully launched its third rocket, its first fully commercial flight and a key milestone for the fledgling company.
Their Electron rocket, nicknamed "It's Business Time," took off yesterday at 10:50 pm from the company's launch complex 1, in the Maheia Peninsula, New Zealand. Nine minutes after the launch, the two-stage rocket was separating and the upper stage – called Curie – was pulling the satellites into their final orbit 500 kilometers from the Earth's surface.
"The world is waking up to the new normal," said Peter Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab, in a statement. "With the Electron launcher, fast and reliable access to space is now a reality for small satellites."
The rocket is just 17 meters tall, a quarter of the size of its larger siblings like the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. But with just $ 5.7 million in startup compared to $ 50 million for a Falcon 9, Rocket Lab hopes its rocket will be at the forefront of a new small launch field – cheaper rockets can be ready to take off more quickly.
This is the third launch of the company. He completed his first ("It's a test") in May 2017 and his second ("Still Testing") in January 2018. Business time was due to start in April this year, but various delays pushed the launch.
On board the rocket were six different satellites and seven payloads in total for various companies. One of them was a sailing drag demonstrator designed for space desorption in orbit. Called NABEO, it was developed in Germany by HSS GmbH (High Performance Space Structure Systems GmBH).
The drag demonstrator will remain attached to the upper stage of the rocket, called CurieRocket Lab
Also on board was an experiment conducted by students from six Irvine high schools in California, called Irvine01. This cubesat will take pictures of Venus and other celestial objects, and also has a new electric propulsion system on board.
There were two Lemur-2 cubesats on board, built by Spire Global in California, to monitor the weather and track planes on Earth. California's Cicero-10 meteorological satellite GeoOptics and two Proxima cubesats from Australia's Internet of Things, Fleet, were also launched.
"We are excited to be leading the small satellite launch sector by reaching an orbit a second time and deploying more payloads," Beck added. "The team has flown seamlessly with incredibly accurate orbital insertion."
This launch being completed, the company is already preparing for its next flight. In early December, he plans to launch the ELaNa 19 mission for NASA, his first flight for the US space agency, and an indicator that the company can launch regularly.
Rocket Lab, founded in 2006, wants to launch a rocket every month in 2019, then every two weeks from now until the end of 2019 and every week from now until 2020. The company's private launching pad in New Zealand, the first private pad launch in the world, is allowed to launch up to 120 rockets a year.
"I think this [launch] is an important step for the industry, "said Beck Forbes before the launch. "There is such a backlog of customers. For me, this is really the starting point. "
Now that It's Business Time is in its infancy, Rocket Lab can look to these upcoming launches, while seeking to consolidate its position as a leader in small launch vehicles.
