Watch the Launch

Additional Media

It's Business Time

It's Business Time was Rocket Lab's third Electron launch. It's Business Time was manifested with commercial satellites from Spire Global, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Fleet Space Technologies, as well as an educational payload from the Irvine CubeSat STEM Program (ICSP) and a drag sail technology ...

It's Business Time

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Dedicated Rideshare

Low Earth Orbit Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand #ItsBusinessTime

Electron's first commercial launch will feature two Lemur-2 cubesats for Spire Global, a single cubesat for GeoOptics, a NABEO drag sail demonstrator for High Performance Space Structure Systems, an IRVINE01 cubesat from the Irvine CubeSat STEM Program, and two Proxima cubesats from Fleet Space Technologies.

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 T
  • Thrust
    162 kN
Family
  • Name
    Electron
  • Family
  • 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

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab

(RL)

CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 46 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

Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A


Falcon 9
In Flight
33 minutes ago
Starlink Group 10-9
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

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


Long March 4B
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Gaofen-11-05
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Gaofen is a series of civilian Earth observation satellites developed and launched for the China High-definition Earth Observation System (CHEOS), a …


Falcon 9
Failure
2 weeks, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 9-3
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Hyperbola-1
Failure
2 weeks, 2 days ago
Yunyao-1 15-17
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 weather satellites performing atmospheric measurements using GNSS Radio Occultation for a Tianjin based company. Constellation is planned to have a…


Ariane 62
Success
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Maiden Flight
Ariane Launch Area 4 - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Maiden Flight of the Ariane 62 launch vehicle, carrying ten cubesats, two deployers, five experiments, and two reentry capsules.


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 4 days ago
Türksat 6A
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Türksat 6A is Turkey's first domestically manufactured geostationary communications satellite. It is to reside in 42° East orbital slot, providing se…


Long March 6A
Success
3 weeks, 1 day ago
Tianhui 5 Group 02
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

A pair of satellites officially described as for cartographic surveying purposes, details TBD.


Firefly Alpha
Success
3 weeks, 2 days ago
FLTA005 (Noise of Summer)
Space Launch Complex 2W - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Fifth flight of the Firefly Alpha small sat launcher, carrying eight cubesats for NASA's ELaNa 43 (Educational Launch of a Nanosatellite) mission.


Falcon 9
Success
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 8-9
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


H3-22
Success
3 weeks, 5 days ago
Advanced Land Observing Satellite-4 (ALOS-4)
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2 - Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

The Advanced Land Observing Satellite-4 (ALOS-4) is a Japanese satellite designed to observe the Earth's surface using a phased array type L-band syn…