Rocket Lab is putting its Electron rocket back into the saddle with three shots scheduled for September

Rocket Lab is putting its Electron rocket back into the saddle with three shots scheduled for September

After a failure in May and a successful launch in July, the Rocket Laboratory plans a busy reentry schedule for the Electron rocket. Three shots planned. A pace the company never reached.

It’s a busy start for American Rocket Lab. In September and October, the company that specializes in sending small space shipments using light rockets plans not one, but three shots. All of these missions will benefit the same company, BlackSky, a subsidiary of Spaceflight Industries. Each time, two BlackSky satellites will be transmitted.

Initially, these takeoffs were scheduled to occur between August and September, but this is the first calendar, which publicly mentioned By Rocket Lab Not held. In fact, the deadline passed without the company being able to send the first of three pairs of satellites into space. right Now New window for the company shot Between September and October.

These three flights, the exact dates of which must be determined at a later time, in such a way as to suggest the return of Rocket Lab, after the failure in May: The Electron rocket failed to send two satellites into orbit. – The customer at that time was already BlackSky – because of the failure of the second stage.

Lab Electron missile
Electron rocket launching in 2019. // Source: NASA Kennedy

High tempo for the start of the school year

Since May, however, Rocket Lab has not remained inactive. The company was still able to carry out a mission in July, this time on behalf of the Space Force, the US military branch dedicated to space activities. The shooting, which was organized on July 29, went well. So, Rocket Lab is back in the saddle this summer and is preparing to have a steady pace in the coming weeks.

If Rocket Lab can keep up with this pace, the company has never been very active, which is not to the dismay of the head of BlackSky, who reiterated his confidence. ” This fast paced release illustrates the accelerated pace at which we can expand our constellation and reinforces our commitment to providing real-time data and intelligence. “,” Announced August 10.

Electron missiles are launched from the Mahia Peninsula in the northeast of the North Island, the second largest island that forms New Zealand, from a developed site – launch complex 1 Pad A. The mission control center is located in the capital of New Zealand, Auckland, several hundred kilometers from the launch pad.

See the world from space

Share on social media

Continuation of the video

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *