Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Baby Come Back

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Dedicated Rideshare

Low Earth Orbit Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
39 - Pacific Ocean

The "Baby Come Back" mission includes NASA's Starling project, which consists of four CubeSats designed to test technologies for future swarm missions. Telesat contributes the LEO 3 demonstration satellite, ensuring continuity for customers and ecosystem vendor testing. Additionally, two 3U satellites carrying GNSS-RO payloads from SpinGlobal will replenish their constellation of over 100 multipurpose satellites.

Updates

JRascagneres • July 18, 2023, 3:15 a.m.

Mission success confirmed


JRascagneres • July 18, 2023, 1:28 a.m.

Liftoff


LL2 • July 18, 2023, 1:02 a.m.

Livestream has started


Electron

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

Booster Info


39

Status: Active


Type: Core
Flight Proven: No
First Flight: July 18, 2023
Last Flight: July 18, 2023
Flights: 1
Landings Attempted: 1
Landings Successful: 1

Landing Information

Rocket Lab has successfully recovered the Electron booster after a soft parachute splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Result: Successful Parachute Landing landing at Pacific Ocean.

Rocket Lab

Circle Image
CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 37 Failures: 4 Pending: 29

Agency Type: Commercial

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. Electron currently launches from only Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand however a second launch complex in the US is under development.

INFO WIKI

Related News

Teslarati

Rocket Lab launches 7 satellites, recovers first stage booster

The ‘Baby Come Back’ mission successfully lifted off from Launch Complex 1B on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand at 01:27 UTC,...

SpaceNews

Electron launches seven smallsats in latest step towards reusability

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket placed seven smallsats for three customers into orbit July 17 on a launch that also brought the company a step closer to reusing the rocket’s booster.

NASASpaceflight

Launch Roundup: Rocket Lab conducts Electron reuse attempt, SpaceX to fly two Starlink v2 missions

The week of July 16 through July 23 will see at least four more launches take place around the world, potentially increasing the orbital launch count to 108 so far in 2023. This includes Rocket Lab’s launch of the “Baby Come Back” mission …

SpaceNews

Rocket Lab takes another step towards reusability on next Electron launch

Rocket Lab’s next Electron launch will feature upgrades to the rocket that bring the company a step closer to being able to reuse its first stage.

Teslarati

Rocket Lab announces next launch, will attempt first stage recovery

Rocket Lab is expected to launch seven satellites from Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. This will be...

Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
6 days ago
Soyuz MS-24
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Soyuz MS-24 carried two cosmonauts and one astronaut to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in K…


Firefly Alpha
Success
6 days, 13 hours ago
FLTA003 (VICTUS NOX)
Space Launch Complex 2W - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Third flight of the Firefly Alpha small sat launcher, carrying a payload for the US Department of Defense.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 7-2
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Atlas V 551
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
NROL-107 (Silent Barker)
Space Launch Complex 41 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Classified space situational awareness (SSA) payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).


Long March 6A
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Yaogan 40
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 Chinese reconnaissance satellites of unknown purposes, officially reported as for "Electromagnetic environment probing" purposes.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Starlink Group 6-14
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


SpaceShipTwo
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Galactic 03
Spaceport America - Air launch to Suborbital flight

Third commercial Virgin Galactic mission.


H-IIA 202
Success
2 weeks ago
XRISM & SLIM
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1 - Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), formerly the X-Ray Astronomy Recovery Mission (XARM), is a replacement for the Hitomi satellite that …


Long March 4C
Success
2 weeks ago
Yaogan 33-03
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

The Yaogan 33-03 is a Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purpose.


Ceres-1S
Success
2 weeks, 2 days ago
4x Tianqi
DeFu-15002 mobile launch platform - Sea Launch

4 small satellites for LEO Internet of Things (IoT) communication purposes.