Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Live and Let Fly (NROL-123)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Government/Top Secret

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

Mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • March 21, 2024, 8:35 a.m.

Launch success confirmed.


hitura-nobad • March 21, 2024, 7:25 a.m.

Liftoff


hitura-nobad • March 21, 2024, 7:04 a.m.

Proceeding with launch at 07:25 UTC


hitura-nobad • March 21, 2024, 6:58 a.m.

T-0 set to 07:25 UTC, issue still being worked on


hitura-nobad • March 21, 2024, 6:53 a.m.

launch window extended


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: 87 Failures: 4 Pending: 43

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

Teslarati

Rocket Lab successfully launches the Live and Let Fly mission

Rocket Lab successfully launched the Live and Let Fly mission last Thursday. Launching at 3:25 am ET, Electron successfully launched the Live...

SpaceNews

Electron launches NRO mission from Wallops

Rocket Lab launched a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office from Virginia March 21, the company’s second launch in as many weeks.

Teslarati

Rocket Lab to launch classified payload for the NRO

Rocket Lab is gearing up for its next mission, Live & Let Fly, no earlier than Thursday, March 21st. The mission will...

NASASpaceflight

Launch Roundup: two missions to the ISS, including first Dragon 2 from SLC-40

SpaceX is preparing to launch three Falcon 9s, including two Starlink missions. Additionally, launching this week are two Chinese rockets, an Electron, and a crewed Soyuz.

Space Scout

Electron and National Reconnaissance Office Ready for Flight

US-New Zealand based company Rocket Lab is preparing for their next mission to fly out of Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia: a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office at 2:40 AM on March 21, 2024. The mission is schedul…

Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C)


Starship
Success
2 days, 8 hours ago
Flight 13
Orbital Launch Pad 2 - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

13th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. Second flight of Starship V3. For the first time, Starship will carry 20 V3 Starlink sa…


Kinetica 1
Success
3 days, 7 hours ago
5 satellites
Launch Area 130 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Share-ride of 5 commercial Earth observation and technology demonstration satellites to SSO, including SpaceTY's TY-48. Details TBD.


Long March 3B/E
Success
3 days, 19 hours ago
Tianlian 2-06
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Tianlian is a Chinese data tracking and relay communications geostationary satellite series. The TL 2 (Tian Lian 2) satellites represent the second g…


Gravity-1
Success
5 days, 4 hours ago
9 satellites
Yellow Sea (launch location 5) - Haiyang Oriental Spaceport

Carried 9 satellites on a share-ride to sun-synchronous orbit. Details TBD.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 10 hours ago
MRV-1
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

The Northrop Grumman/SpaceLogistics MRV-1 is a mission extension payload including a mission robotic vehicle (MRV) and multiple mission extension pod…


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 16 hours ago
Starlink Group 17-39
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Soyuz 2.1b
Success
1 week ago
16 x Rassvet-3
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identities uncertain. Batch of 16 Rassvet-3 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Russian Byuro-1440 (Bureau 1440) conste…


Vikram-I
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Demo Flight
Satish Dhawan Space Centre First Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

First launch of Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-I launch vehicle. This first launch will carry 4 payloads: - Grahaa Space's SOLARAS S3 satellite - C…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer E
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Tranche 1 Transport Layer E is one of six missions by the United States Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Proliferated Warfighter Sp…


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Soyuz MS-29
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Soyuz MS-29 will carry three cosmonauts and one astronaut to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome…