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Rocket Lab - Antipodean Adventure Launch


NROL-199 (RASR-4)

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Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Government/Top Secret

Low Earth Orbit Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
29 - South Pacific

Classified payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Aug. 4, 2022, 6:17 a.m.

Spacecraft separation


SwGustav • Aug. 4, 2022, 5 a.m.

Liftoff


SwGustav • Aug. 4, 2022, 4:45 a.m.

Coverage is live


Cosmic_Penguin • Aug. 2, 2022, 11:02 a.m.

New launch date


SwGustav • Aug. 2, 2022, 6:54 a.m.

Scrub due to weather


Electron

Family:
Configuration:

Electron is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle (with an optional third stage) developed by the American aerospace company Rocket Lab. Electron is a small-lift launch vehicle designed to launch small satellites and cubesats to sun-synchronous orbit and low earth orbit. The Electron is the first orbital class rocket to use electric-pump-fed engines, powered by the 9 Rutherford engines on the first stage. It is also used as a suborbital testbed (called HASTE) for hypersonics research.

See Details
Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    2
  • Max Stage
    3
  • Length
    18.0 m
  • Diameter
    1.2 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    1.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    13.0 T
  • Thrust
    162.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Electron
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Electron
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $6000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    300.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    225.0 kg

Booster Info


29


Type: Core
Flight Proven: No
First Flight: August 4, 2022
Last Flight: August 4, 2022
Flights: 1

Landing Information

Booster was expended during its first flight.

Core will be expended.

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab

(RL)

CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 55 Failures: 4 Pending: 33

Agency Type:

Rocket Lab is an American aerospace manufacturer with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. The company develops lightweight, cost-effective commercial rocket launch services. The Electron Program was founded on the premise that small payloads such as CubeSats require dedicated small launch vehicles and flexibility not currently offered by traditional rocket systems. Its rocket, the Electron, is a light-weight rocket and is now operating commercially. The company is also producing a variety of spacecrafts and spacecrafts components.

INFO WIKI

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Rocket Lab launches top secret payload for U.S. spy satellite agency

Flying the second of back-to-back launches for the National Reconnaissance Office, Rocket Lab placed a classified U.S. government payload into orbit Thursday after a liftoff from New Zealand. It was the third Electron rocket flight in less…

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Rocket Lab launches classified mission for National Reconnaissance Office

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched a National Reconnaissance Office mission Aug. 4 at 1:00 a.m. Eastern. The NROL-199 mission lifted off from the company’s Launch Complex-1 at Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.

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Rocket Lab’s Electron to launch NROL-199 mission

Rocket Lab is scheduled to launch the 29th Electron mission on August 2 at 05:00 UTC. NROL-199 will launch from Launch Complex-1B (LC-1B) at Rocket Lab’s launch facility on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand.

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Rocket Lab’s next mission for the National Reconnaissance Office — the second of two back-to-back launches for the U.S. spy satellite agency — has been postponed to complete a software update on the classified payload, the NRO said Monday.

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