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Rocket Lab - 'There And Back Again' Launch

The “There And Back Again” mission will see Electron deploy 34 satellites to a sun synchronous orbit for a variety of customers including Alba Orbital, Astri...

There And Back Again

Launching from Pad A at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula, the “There And Back Again” mission will be Rocket Lab’s 26th Electron launch.

There and Back Again

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Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Dedicated Rideshare

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
26 - South Pacific

Commercial rideshare mission including payloads for Alba Orbital, Astrix Astronautics, Aurora Propulsion Technologies, E-Space, Spaceflight Inc, Swarm Technologies and UNSEENLABS.

Updates

Jay • May 3, 2022, 12:11 a.m.

All payloads deployed successfully


Jay • May 2, 2022, 10:50 p.m.

Liftoff


Nosu • May 2, 2022, 7:45 p.m.

Updating T-0


Electron

Family: Electron
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 Electron 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
    Electron
  • 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

Booster Info


26


Type: Core
Flight Proven: No
First Flight: May 2, 2022
Last Flight: May 2, 2022
Flights: 1
Landings Attempted: 1

Landing Information

Rocket lab successfully caught the Electron first stage, however due to different load characteristics than were experienced during testing the pilot dropped the stage at his discretion to complete a successful splashdown.

Result: 26 did not land successfully.

Rocket Lab

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CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 41 Failures: 4 Pending: 28

Agency Type: Commercial

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

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