New Zealand – Page 6 – Spaceflight Now

Rocket Lab announces August launch with commercial and military satellites

July 23, 2019 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s next launch from New Zealand in August will carry four small spacecraft into orbit for BlackSky’s Earth-imaging constellation, the U.S. Air Force, and a French startup developing a fleet of maritime surveillance satellites, the company announced Monday.

Rocket Lab flies again from New Zealand as work progresses at Virginia launch pad

June 29, 2019 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s third flight of the year delivered seven small commercial, military and educational satellites into orbit Saturday after a launch from New Zealand, while construction of a new launch pad in Virginia continues on pace for completion by the end of the year.

Launch timeline for Rocket Lab’s “Make it Rain” mission

June 26, 2019 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s light-class Electron launcher is set to take off on its seventh flight from New Zealand, aiming for a 280-mile-high (450-kilometer) orbit with seven small satellites for commercial customers, the U.S. military and university students.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches rideshare mission

June 26, 2019 Stephen Clark

Seven small satellites rode a Rocket Lab Electron rocket into orbit Saturday from New Zealand. Carrying commercial, military and student payloads, the Electron launcher lifted off at 0430 GMT (12:30 a.m. EDT).

Rocket Lab’s next launch will loft cluster of satellites on Spaceflight rideshare

June 17, 2019 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s next launch from New Zealand is set for no earlier than June 27 with a bundle of spacecraft including a commercial Earth-observing microsatellite for BlackSky, two CubeSats for U.S. Special Operations Command, a pair of tiny prototype data relay nodes for Swarm Technologies, a student-built payload from Australia, and a satellite whose identity and owner remain a secret.

Rocket Lab deploys experimental U.S. military smallsats on first night launch

May 5, 2019 Stephen Clark

On its first nighttime launch, Rocket Lab’s Electron booster climbed into orbit Sunday from New Zealand with a trio of small U.S. military payloads, demonstrating the privately-developed rocket’s ability to help meet the Air Force’s growing demand for smallsat launches.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches three U.S. military smallsats

May 4, 2019 Stephen Clark

Three experimental satellites sponsored by the U.S. military lifted off on an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s commercial spaceport in New Zealand on Sunday at 0600 GMT (2 a.m. EDT).

Rocket Lab launches DARPA research satellite

March 29, 2019 Stephen Clark

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket climbed into orbit from New Zealand Thursday (U.S. time) with an experimental payload for a U.S. military research and development agency to demonstrate the performance of a compact, deployable antenna that could expand the communications capabilities of future small satellites.

Rocket Lab launch with DARPA’s R3D2 satellite rescheduled for Thursday

March 25, 2019 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s launch team canceled a launch attempt Sunday in New Zealand after discovering a misbehaving video transmitter on the Electron booster set to loft a small U.S. military satellite into orbit to test an innovative antenna design. After replacing the transmitter, Rocket Lab announced the launch is set for Thursday (U.S. time) to wait for better weather.

Timeline for Rocket Lab’s launch of DARPA’s R3D2 tech demo satellite

March 24, 2019 Stephen Clark

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.