Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Rocket Lab Electron launches "Don't Be Such a Square" Mission

STP-S30 is a complex mission that will deliver research experiments and technology demonstrations to orbit for the DoD and contribute to future space systems development. The primary payload, DiskSat, will demonstrate sustained very low earth orbit (VLEO) flight and test a unique, 1-meter diameter, disk-shaped satellite bus that is designed …

Don't Be Such A Square (STP-S30)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Technology

Low Earth Orbit Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C) Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA Probability: 80%

STP-S30 is a complex mission that will deliver research experiments and technology demonstrations to orbit for the DoD and contribute to future space systems development. The projected primary payload, DISKSat, will demonstrate sustained very low earth orbit (VLEO) flight and test a unique, 1-meter diameter, disk-shaped satellite bus that is designed to increase on-orbit persistence.

Telemetry

Launch trajectory and telemetry simulations provided by Flight Club - a rocket launch simulator and orbital trajectory visualiser for all things space!

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 18, 2025, 4:27 p.m.

Launch success.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 18, 2025, 6:14 a.m.

All 4 spacecraft has separated.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 18, 2025, 5:03 a.m.

Liftoff.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 18, 2025, 4:50 a.m.

Tweaked T-0 and weather forecast.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 18, 2025, 2:13 a.m.

Updated launch weather, 70% GO.


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

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab

(RL)

CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 75 Failures: 4 Pending: 42

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

Related News

Space Scout

A Rare Orbital Electron from Wallops

Rocket Lab’s Electron made a rare orbital flight out of Wallops Island, Virginia on December 18, 2025, lifting off just

NASA

NASA’s DiskSat Technology Demo Launches to Low Earth Orbit

NASA’s DiskSat technology demonstration mission will test the performance of a new small spacecraft platform designed to expand the capabilities of current small spacecraft. By demonstrating the advantages of a flat, disk-shaped architectu…

Spaceflight Now

Rocket Lab launches 4 novel DiskSat satellites for U.S. Space Force, NASA

The STP-S30 mission was moved up five months on the launch manifest for Rocket Lab. This was the 20th launch of an Electron rocket in 2025.

SpaceDaily

DiskSat flat satellite platform targets high power missions and very low Earth orbit

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025 The Aerospace Corporation's DiskSat concept introduces a flat, disk-shaped small satellite bus designed to provide more power, surface area, and payload volume than a traditional CubeSat while keeping…

NASASpaceflight

Launch Roundup: Ariane 6, Falcon 9, Atlas V, and Electron launches highlight busy week

Global launch activity is set to surge over the next week, with 13 missions scheduled… The post Launch Roundup: Ariane 6, Falcon 9, Atlas V, and Electron launches highlight busy week appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C)


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 10 hours ago
CSG-3
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

CSG-3 is an Earth observation satellite for the Italian Space Agency, part of a reconnaissance constellation using synthetic aperture radars operatin…


Long March 7A
Success
6 days, 14 hours ago
Shijian 29 A-B
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

2 satellites officially described as for "demonstration of new technologies for spatial targets detection" purposes.


Long March 4B
Success
1 week ago
Tianhui 7
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

A satellite officially described as for cartography purposes, details TBD.


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
AIST-2T 01 & 02
Cosmodrome Site 1S - Vostochny Cosmodrome, Siberia, Russian Federation

A pair of Russian optical Earth observation satellites built by the Progress Rocket Space Centre for obtaining stereo images of the Earth's surface, …


Long March 3B/E
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Fengyun-4C
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

China's geostationary meteorological satellite program FY-4 (Feng Yun 4) is the second generation of chinese geostationary meteorological satellites.


Long March 8A
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
SatNet LEO Group 17
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Obzor-R No.1
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Assignment of payloads to this launch is uncertain. The Russian Obzor-R satellite is a planned X-band radar earth observation satellite desi…


LVM-3 (GSLV Mk III)
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
BlueBird Block 2 #1
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

AST SpaceMobile’s Block 2 BlueBird satellites are designed to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird Block 1 satellites, requi…


Long March 12A
Success
2 weeks ago
Demo Flight
Long March 12A Pad - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch of CASC/SAST’s Long March 12A rocket, with a dummy payload. The rocket’s 1st stage attempted to land on a landing pad about 300 km …


HANBIT-Nano
Failure
2 weeks ago
Spaceward
HANBIT Pad - Alcântara Space Center, Federative Republic of Brazil

Maiden orbital launch attempt for the South Korean start-up Innospace and its HANBIT-Nano small launch vehicle. Onboard this flight are five small sa…