Rocket Lab’s privately-developed Electron launcher soared into orbit from New Zealand on Saturday, U.S. time, a success that puts the company’s founder said will hasten dedicated, frequent and affordable rides to space for small satellites.
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket took off from a picturesque commercial launch base in New Zealand on Saturday, U.S. time, on a test flight that delivered three CubeSats into orbit on the company’s first successful satellite deployment.
An attempt to place three small satellites in orbit on an experimental test flight was halted Friday after two ships strayed into a keep-out zone offshore Rocket Lab’s privately-owned launch base in New Zealand, delaying the Electron booster’s second demonstration mission at least 24 hours.
Rocket Lab’s second Electron booster lifted off from New Zealand’s North Island on Saturday, U.S. time, and reached orbit after an eight-minute climb over the Pacific Ocean. Liftoff with three commercial CubeSats occurred at 8:43 p.m. EST Saturday (0143 GMT; 2:43 p.m. New Zealand time Sunday).
Japan’s Epsilon rocket delivered a civilian-operated radar imaging satellite to orbit Wednesday on a mission to demonstrate the performance of a new commercial spacecraft design and collect all-weather imagery for use in emergencies, mapping and global surveillance.
The second test flight of Rocket Lab’s privately-developed Electron satellite booster could take off from New Zealand as soon as Friday night, U.S. time, after technical problems and high winds kept the rocket grounded during a series of launch attempts in December.
A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off Friday with 31 satellites on the first flight for India’s workhorse rocket since an August mishap that left an Indian navigation satellite unusable after reaching orbit.
A second satellite duo for Beijing Space View Technology successfully launched Tuesday atop a Long March 2D rocket, doubling the commercial company’s high-resolution imaging capacity for sale on the global market.
A land imaging satellite soared to a 300-mile-high perch above Earth Saturday after lifting off on top of a Long March 2D rocket from the Jiuquan space base in the Gobi Desert, joining a similar military reconnaissance craft launched earlier this month in the same type of orbit.
Two research satellites to probe Earth’s climate patterns and test ion engine technology to counter atmospheric drag in an unusual low-altitude orbit launched Saturday on top of a Japanese H-2A rocket.