California-based Rocket Lab has begun a tradition of giving each Electron mission a nickname. According to this, Saturday’s launch is called “No Beat Mission”. The flight launches a pair of high-resolution imaging satellites for the BlackSky. These are the 16 and 17 Block 2 satellites that will be launched as part of the BlackSky business constellation. Each satellite carries a payload of colorful optical imaging. Saturday’s launch is the Rocket Lab’s seventh mission for BlackSky and the fourth exclusive two-satellite launch for the company. Two BlackSky satellites were lost in 2021 when Electron Flight 20, “Running out of Toes”, failed to reach orbit. “Without Mission a Beat” was originally scheduled to be Rocket Lab’s first launch in 2022. However, in January, Rocket Lab announced a launch delay to “adjust changes to customer schedules.” The delay allowed Rocket Lab to launch Synspective’s StriX-b, a mission called “The Owl’s Night Continues” that was successfully completed in late February. Electron was developed by Rocket Lab to serve the small satellite launch market. The vehicle has a monocoque structure made of carbon fiber composite material. It has a length of 18 meters and a diameter of 1.2 meters.

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The first stage of the Electron is powered by nine Rutherford engines, named after New Zealand-born scientist Ernest Rutherford. The second stage is powered by an Rutherford optimized vacuum engine that burns RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen (LOX). Rutherford used an electric pump cycle and was the first such engine to fly with an orbital launch vehicle. The Electron was first launched on May 25, 2017, with the “It’s a Test” mission, which flew from Launch Complex 1A. Although the first flight failed to reach orbit, a second flight, “Still Testing”, was successfully completed on January 21, 2018. Prior to Saturday’s launch, the Electron was launched 24 times, with 21 successful missions. The Mahia launch site is located on the north island of New Zealand. It has two launch pads: LC-1A, which will be used for Saturday launch, and LC-1B. The LC-1B was first used in February at Rocket Lab’s latest launch, “The Owl’s Night Continues”. The two launch pads at Rocket Lab’s Mahia launch site (Credit: Rocket Lab) A third launch site, Launch Complex 2 (LC-2), is located in the United States at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops, Virginia. The LC-2 has not yet hosted an Electron launch, with its first mission expected later this year. Rocket Lab is currently working to make the first stage of the Electron rocket reusable. Although no recovery will be attempted during Saturday’s launch, the company is making progress toward the first airborne recovery attempt, which will use a helicopter to catch the amplifier as it parachutes down. Rocket Lab’s first successful amplifier recovery came during Electron’s 16th flight, “Return to Sender,” when the first stage of the rocket was recovered after a gentle drop into the ocean. These efforts are helping Rocket Lab gain knowledge and experience as it designs its next-generation launch vehicle, the Neutron, which is intended to be fully reusable. The Neutron is expected to launch from Wallops Island no earlier than 2024. Launch day activities for “Without Mission a Beat” began at T-6pm, when the road to the launch site on the Mahia Peninsula was closed. The Electron rocket was then lifted in the vertical orientation to the LC-1A, with the loading of the RP-1 propellant starting about four hours before launch. Electron’s nine Rutherford engines appear during the launch of the ElaNa XIX. (Credit: Brady Kenniston for NSF / L2) At T-2 hours and 30 minutes, Rocket Lab site staff left the background for the safe locations where they will remain until launch. The launch vehicle’s oxidant tanks were then filled with LOX, starting at point T-2. At the same point of the countdown, maritime safety zones were activated to ensure that ships did not enter dangerous areas around the launch site and further fall. Other safety belts, including airspace restrictions, were activated 30 minutes before launch. Launch controllers at the Rocket Lab Mission Control Center in Auckland conducted a Go / No Go poll to launch the T-18-minute countdown. The next important milestone in the countdown was the start of the automatic launch sequence two minutes before takeoff. When this happens, the computers built into Electron take control of the boot sequence. At T-2 seconds, the nine Rutherford engines in the first stage of the Electron ignite. This was followed by the take-off from LC-1A to T0. After launch, the Electron rolled to the appropriate launch azimuth to steer the vehicle and its payloads to the desired orbital inclination. The Electron traveled southeast as it headed down the Mahia Peninsula. At T + 2 minutes and 29 seconds, the first stage engines shut down, a milestone in the launch, known as the main engine shutdown (MECO). Three seconds later, the first and second stages are separated, with a spiritual push away. Engineers pose next to the Electron payload fair, which contains the BlackSky satellites. (Credit: Rocket Lab) Two minutes and 36 seconds after starting, Rutherford’s unique vacuum-optimized engine in the second stage ignites. Shortly afterwards, at three minutes and 11 seconds into the mission, the rocket payload fairing splits. Mounted on the nose of the second stage, the fairing protects the satellites during the first stages of the flight. The fairing separation system includes a pneumatic unlocking system that splits the fairing in two halves and springs that will push the two halves of the fairing away from the rocket. The Electron switches its battery to T + 6 minutes and 55 seconds. At this point in flight, two of the batteries that power the second-stage engine electric fuel pumps will be exhausted and will be separated from the bottom of the second-stage engine. A third battery in the tent continues to provide power for the rest of the mission. The electron reached orbit nine minutes and 37 seconds after launch, shutting down the second stage engine. Eight seconds later, the kicking stage was separated from the second stage. This will be responsible for introducing BlackSky satellites into their programmed orbit. After the split, the kick-off stage entered a shore period until its only Curie engine ignited at T + 51 minutes and 10 seconds. This will burn for one minute and 42 seconds. About an hour after disembarking from the LC-1A, both BlackSky satellites will leave the kicking stage to begin their missions. (Selected image: The Electron rocket for “Without Mission A Beat” completes a wet-dress rehearsal before launch. Score: Rocket Lab)