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Still Testing

The Still Testing mission was Rocket Lab's first orbital launch of the Electron vehicle. Electron lifted-off at 14:43 NZDT from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand. The launch marked the beginning of a new era in commercial access to space.

Still Testing (Dove Pioneer, 2 x Lemur-2)

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Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Test Flight

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

The second test flight of the Electron small satellite launch vehicle. It is also the first Electron flight to carry commercial payload. It includes a Dove cubesat for company Planet intended for Earth observation. And also two Lemur-2 cubesats for company Spire which carry payloads for meteorology and ship traffic tracking.

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: 85 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

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A


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3 days, 3 hours ago
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3 days, 13 hours ago
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A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


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3 days, 20 hours ago
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3 days, 21 hours ago
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101 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

Chinese classified satellite claimed to be for communication technology test purposes. Actual mission not known.


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5 days, 20 hours ago
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Falcon 9
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6 days, 18 hours ago
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Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
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1 week, 1 day ago
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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. 2 US military Stars…


Long March 8
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1 week, 2 days ago
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