EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated March 24, March 25 and 26 with new launch dates.
Rocket Lab’s light-class Electron launcher is set to take off on its fifth flight from New Zealand, aiming for a 264-mile-high (425-kilometer) orbit with DARPA’s R3D2 technology demonstration satellite.
The two-stage, 55-foot-tall (17-meter) rocket is scheduled for liftoff during a four-hour window opening at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT) Thursday from Rocket Lab’s commercial launch complex on Mahia Peninsula on New Zealand’s North Island.
The privately-developed Electron launcher is making its fifth flight after its maiden flight in May 2017 reached space, but faltered before reaching orbit, followed by four successful missions in a row that deployed nanosatellites into low Earth orbit.
The timeline posted below is accompanied by animation provided by Rocket Lab that illustrates the approximate appearance of the major flight events.
Data source: Rocket Lab
T-0:00:00: Liftoff
The Electron rocket lifts off on the power of nine kerosene-fueled Rutherford main engines, generating 34,500 pounds of thrust at liftoff and powering up to 41,500 pounds of thrust as the rocket climbs into the upper atmosphere.
T+0:01:20: Max-Q
The Electron rocket experiences the most intense aerodynamic pressures at this phase of flight.
T+0:02:34: MECO
The nine first stage Rutherford main engines shut down after a two-and-a-half minute burn.
T+0:02:37: First Stage Separation
The Electron’s first stage separates from its second stage.
T+0:02:41: Second Stage Ignition
The Electron’s second stage Rutherford engine ignites to continue the trip into orbit, producing approximately 5,000 pounds of thrust in vacuum.
T+0:03:06: Fairing Jettison
The Electron rocket’s payload fairing, which protected the satellites during the initial phase of ascent, jettisons once the rocket is above the dense, lower layers of the atmosphere. The composite 3.9-foot-diameter (1.2-meter) shroud will fall into the Pacific Ocean.
T+0:08:53: SECO
The second stage’s Rutherford vacuum engine shuts down after reaching an elliptical parking orbit.
T+0:08:57: Kick Stage Separation
The Electron rocket’s kick stage separates from the second stage.
T+0:49:52: Kick Stage Ignition
The kick stage’s Curie engine ignites for a 90-second burn to place the mission’s CubeSat payloads into a circular 264-mile-high (425-kilometer) orbit with an inclination of 39.5 degrees. The Curie engine burns a proprietary non-toxic “green” propellant and produces about 27 pounds of thrust.
T+0:51:45: Kick Stage Shutdown
The kick stage’s Curie engine shuts down after achieving the proper orbit.
T+0:53:15: R3D2 Separation
DARPA’s 330-pound (150-kilogram) Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration satellite separates from Rocket Lab’s Curie kick stage.
A $1.8 billion U.S. Air Force communications satellite rode a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket into orbit Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, joining three similar craft perched more than 22,000 miles above Earth to ensure government leaders can remain in contact with military commanders in the worst-case scenario of nuclear war.
A Vega rocket fired into orbit Thursday night from French Guiana with Italy’s PRISMA hyperspectral Earth-imaging satellite, commencing a busy period for the Vega launcher program as engineers prepare for the debut of the more powerful Vega-C booster in early 2020 and study a lighter variant to better compete in the growing smallsat launch market.
The Russian Soyuz MS-03 crew transport spacecraft is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with three passengers on a two-day trek to the International Space Station.
