Rocket Lab – Page 9 – Spaceflight Now

Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches four satellites

August 16, 2019 Stephen Clark

Three days after high winds scrubbed a launch attempt Friday, Rocket Lab launched an Electron rocket with four satellites from New Zealand at 1212 GMT (8:12 a.m. EDT) Monday.

Smallsat companies teaming up on deorbit experiment

August 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

TriSept Corp. has announced plans for a commercial technology demonstration mission set for launch next year on a Rocket Lab Electron vehicle to test a deployable conductive tape, made by Tethers Unlimited, that could help small satellites more quickly fall out of orbit at the end of their missions.

Rocket Lab to begin booster recovery experiments later this year

August 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s next launch from New Zealand, set for Friday, will carry a data recorder to measure the aerothermal environments encountered by the Electron launcher’s first stage during descent back into the atmosphere, information engineers say is crucial to successfully achieving the company’s newly-announced plan to recover and reuse the booster.

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.

Made in Space wins NASA contract to 3D-print satellite structures in orbit

July 14, 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA awarded a $73.7 million contract Friday to the California-based startup Made in Space for a 3D-printing demonstration using a free-flying small satellite to additively manufacture solar array beams in space.

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.