New Zealand’s private Rocket Lab launch company deployed customer payloads in orbit on January 21 after the successful launch of its Electron vehicle, aptly named Still Testing.
It was Rocket Lab’s second launch from the Māhia Peninsula on NZ’s North Island. In May last year an Electron from Māhia became the first orbital-class rocket launched from a private launch site in the world. The first launch saw successful first and second stage firing and fairing separation, but the vehicle failed to reach its intended orbit.
The second flight deployed a Dove Pioneer Earth-imaging satellite for launch customer Planet, as well as two Lemur-2 satellites for weather and ship tracking company Spire.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era in commercial access to space. We’re thrilled to reach this milestone so quickly after our first test launch,” said Rocket Lab CEO and founder Peter Beck.
“Reaching orbit on a second test flight is significant on its own, but successfully deploying customer payloads so early in a new rocket program is almost unprecedented.”
In another first, the two Lemur-2 satellites were attached to a previously unannounced “kick stage” vehicle with its own propulsion and avionics. Once in space the kick stage ignited to place the Lemur-2s in to the circular orbit that will keep them a constant distance from the earth and so provide consistent coverage for their sensors. The kick stage was then de-orbited and burned up on re-entry to avoid becoming space junk.
With the new kick stage, Rocket Lab can execute multiple burns to place numerous payloads into different orbits, which Peter Beck believes opens up significantly more orbital options, particularly for rideshare customers that have traditionally been limited to the primary payload’s designated orbit.
“Until now many small satellite operators have had to compromise on optimal orbits in order to reach space at an accessible cost,” he said. “The kick stage releases small satellites from the constricting parameters of primary payload orbits and enables them to full reach their potential, including faster deployment of small satellite constellations and better positioning for Earth imaging.”
Rocket Lab has five Electron vehicles in production, with the next launch expected in early 2018. At full production Rocket Lab expects to launch more than 50 times a year, and is regulated to launch up to 120 times a year, which the company says is more than any other commercial or government launch provider in history.
Rocket Lab’s commercial phase will see Electron fly already-signed customers including NASA, Spire, Planet, Moon Express and Spaceflight.