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Make It Rain

The Make It Rain mission will launch multiple spacecraft as part of a rideshare flight procured by Spaceflight. The launch window will open in late June, with launch taking place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula.

Make It Rain (Rideshare)

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Dedicated Rideshare

Low Earth Orbit Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Rideshare mission for Spaceflight. Electron will launch seven spacecraft, including a commercial Earth-observing microsatellite for BlackSky, two CubeSats for U.S. Special Operations Command, a pair of tiny prototype data relay nodes for Swarm Technologies, a student-built payload from Australia called ACRUX-1, and a satellite whose identity and owner remain a secret. The mission is named "Make it Rain" in a nod to the high volume of rainfall in Seattle, where Spaceflight is headquartered, as well in New Zealand where Launch Complex 1 is located.

Electron

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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
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Variant
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Alias
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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

(RL)

CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 64 Failures: 4 Pending: 32

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.

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