Watch the Launch

Additional Media

We Love the Nightlife (Capella Acadia 1)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Earth Science

Low Earth Orbit Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
40 - Pacific Ocean

Payload consists of a single SAR Earth-imaging Acadia satellite, a new generation satellite designed, manufactured, and operated by Capella Space. First mission to fly with a reused engine.

Updates

SwGustav • Aug. 24, 2023, 1:03 a.m.

Launch success


SwGustav • Aug. 23, 2023, 11:45 p.m.

Liftoff


LL2 • Aug. 23, 2023, 11:27 p.m.

Livestream has started


Cosmic_Penguin • Aug. 23, 2023, 8:19 a.m.

New NET T-0, 23:45 UTC.


Cosmic_Penguin • Aug. 14, 2023, 11:13 p.m.

New launch date and time.


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

Booster Info


40

Status: Retired


Type: Core
Flight Proven: No
First Flight: August 23, 2023
Last Flight: August 23, 2023
Flights: 1
Landings Attempted: 1
Landings Successful: 1

Landing Information

The Electron booster was successfully recovered after a soft parachute splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Result: Successful Parachute Landing landing at Pacific Ocean.

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab

(RL)

CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 72 Failures: 4 Pending: 44

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

The Launch Pad

RocketLab Flys Recovered Electron Engine For First Time

Rocket Lab has achieved a significant milestone in the effort to make Electron reusable, for the first time the company has flown an engine that had previously flown before and was recovered from the ocean.

Arstechnica

The re-flight of a Rutherford engine demonstrates rocket reuse is here to stay

"The data is in, perfect performance from the reused engine."

Teslarati

Rocket Lab launches 40th mission, first re-flown Rutherford engine

Rocket Lab’s ‘We Love the Nightlife’ mission lifted off at 11:45 a.m. NZST (23:45 UTC), bringing the Acadia satellite to orbit and...

SpaceNews

Rocket Lab reuses engine on Electron launch

Rocket Lab successfully reflew an engine on an Electron launch Aug. 23 as the company moves a step closer to reusing the entire rocket booster.

Teslarati

Rocket Lab’s Electron faces rare last second abort

Rocket Lab’s 40th mission will have to wait a bit longer, as the Electron rocket ignited its 9 Rutherford engines and immediately...

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B


Zhuque-3
Success
1 day, 16 hours ago
Demo Flight
Launch Area 96B - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch of LandSpace’s ZQ-3 rocket, with a dummy payload. The rocket’s 1st stage will attempt to land on a landing pad about 300 km downran…


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 22 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-95
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
Success
2 days, 15 hours ago
Starlink Group 15-10
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Vega-C
Success
3 days, 3 hours ago
KOMPSAT-7
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

KOMPSAT-7 is the follow-up model of KOMPSAT-3A whose mission is to provide high-resolution satellite images to satisfy South-Korea's governmental and…


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 12 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-86
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

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


Long March 7A
Success
4 days, 8 hours ago
Shijian 28
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

Classified experimental Chinese satellite of unknown purposes.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 1 hour ago
Transporter 15 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Dedicated rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
1 week ago
Soyuz MS-28
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Soyuz MS-28 will carry three cosmonauts and one astronaut to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome…


Nuri
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
CAS500-3
LC-2 - Naro Space Center, South Korea

CAS500-3 is a South Korean Earth observation satellites to be used by the Ministry of Science and ICT for space technology verification and space sci…


Angara 1.2
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
3 x Rodnik (Kosmos 2597, 2598, 2599)
35/1 - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity and Cosmos series numbering not confirmed. The Strela (Russian: Стрела) are Soviet, then Russian, military space telecommun…