A Rocket Lab Electron launcher took off on Saturday (April 2) at 8:41 a.m. EST (1241 GMT) from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia Pensula, New Zealand. The local time was 1:10 on Sunday morning at the launch site. The two-stage Electron rocket carried two spacecraft for the BlackSky company in Virginia. They developed successfully about 40 minutes after takeoff. “Payloads has developed another 100% mission success from the team,” Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck wrote on Twitter after the successful launch.
A Rocket Lab Electron launches two BlackSky Earth observation satellites into orbit from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula on April 2, 2022. (Image credit: Rocket Lab) Rocket Lab, which called the launch a “No Beat Mission,” did not attempt to retrieve Electron’s first stage during the launch. (Eventually, Rocket Lab plans to use a helicopter to remove the first stages of electron falling from the sky; it has already recovered ocean amplifiers in several previous missions.) BlackSky and Rocket Lab are long-time partners, as Electrons have delivered most of the BlackSky constellation into orbit since 2019. Saturday’s shipment was arranged for BlackSky by launcher Spaceflight Inc. “BlackSky’s proprietary constellation has one of the highest hourly retrieval rates in the world, providing customers with ongoing monitoring and tracking of business change around the world,” Rocket Lab said in the “Without Mission a Beat” kit. BlackSky satellites are used by government agencies along with a number of large companies known as Global 2000, according to the Rocket Lab. The platform for BlackSky, called Spectra AI, uses artificial intelligence techniques to automate the detection of rapidly changing information about its customers. “BlackSky supports critical day-to-day decisions in a range of applications including internal security, supply chain information, crisis management and response, critical infrastructure and financial intelligence,” said Rocket Lab. BlackSky is also one of the companies helping the world watch the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24. “Without Mission A Beat” will deliver two @blacksky_inc payloads to low Earth orbit, creating their constellation in 14 positions – most of which were developed by Electron on missions since 2019. The launch window opens on April 02 UTC , 12:10. More information: pic.twitter.com/g6k4DSjI3EM March 31, 2022 See more Rocket Lab has announced a number of upcoming missions, including one scheduled for the second quarter of 2022, which will send three demonstration satellites high for E-Space. “E-Space aims to reduce launch requirements for a full constellation in months instead of years – reducing the time it takes to escalate, upgrade or deliver a complete system,” Rocket Lab said of the recently announced contract. . Rocket Lab also plans launches for imaging firm Earth Synspective, Internet of Things Kinéis satellite provider and government clients such as NASA and the US National Recognition Agency. Other future missions focus on mitigating orbital debris and exploring Venus, according to the Rocket Lab manifesto.
Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, with Pad A and the recently completed Pad B. (Image credit: Rocket Lab) Saturday’s launch came just weeks after Rocket Lab announced it would build its next-generation Neutron rocket on Wallops, Virginia, near the company’s offshore launch pad in the United States. (The company also debuted a new, second launch surface at its New Zealand location on February 28, with a successful launch of an Electron amplifier.) The neutron, which will be reusable, will send higher payloads into orbit than the Electron. The Rocket Lab has said that the larger Neutron rocket will carry larger sets of orbiting satellites, along with interplanetary missions that require fuel and possibly even human missions. The planned first launch of the Neutron is in 2024. Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.
