Tag: commercial rocket launches

Rocket Lab Marks Milestone with 50th Electron Rocket Launch

Spaceflight Now reports, “Rocket Lab successfully reached a milestone that few commercial rockets achieved and at a pace that outperformed its competition. The company launched its 50th Electron rocket to date just seven years after the vehicle’s debut in May 2017 … Onboard the rocket were five satellites on behalf of France-based internet of things company, Kinéis … All five on this flight were successfully deployed.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Videos

RocketLab 50th Electron Launch
(The Launch Pad; YouTube)

Rocket Lab Launches NROL-123 Mission in 4th US Liftoff

SPACE reports, “Rocket Lab launched from the U.S. for the fourth time ever Thursday morning (March 21), sending mystery payloads aloft for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).” The NROL-123 mission, or “Live and Let Fly,” as Rocket Lab has designated it, launched at 3:25 a.m. EDT from the company’s Launch Complex 2 at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Full Story (SPACE)

Videos

RocketLab Electron 46 | NROL-123
(The Launch Pad; YouTube)

Rocket Lab Works to Challenge SpaceX

Gizmodo reports Rocket Lab is working to challenge SpaceX, which currently has a stranglehold on the spaceflight industry. Rocket Lab CFO Adam Spice said, “We are positioning Neutron to compete directly with the Falcon 9,” CNBC reported. The projected cost “of flying with Neutron, a fully reusable medium-lift rocket that could perform its first launch next year, is slated at $50 million.” In comparison, SpaceX’s price per flight is typically $67 million. Rocket Lab has differentiated itself by developing 3D-printing technology and now performs “multi-continent launches of its Electron rocket.” Now, with its Neutron Rocket, Rocket Lab “is eyeing the medium-lift sector; the future rocket, in addition to delivering various payloads, is being positioned as a vehicle for transporting astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.”
Full Story (Gizmodo)