posted 07-29-2014 08:00 PM               

Please use this topic to discuss the launches of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket from its Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand.

posted 01-21-2018 02:48 AM               

Rocket Lab has successfully launched its second rocket from Mahia, with the rocket — named "Still Testing" — reaching orbit for the first time.

This follows the company's first launch last May, in which the rocket got to space but did not make it to orbit after range safety officials had to kill the flight.

...Still Testing was carrying a Dove Pioneer Earth-imaging satellite for launch customer Planet, as well as two Lemur-2 satellites for weather and ship-tracking company Spire.

posted 07-04-2020 04:43 PM               

Liftoff of the company's 13th mission, dubbed "Pics Or It Didn't Happen," carrying seven small satellites for Canon Electronics, Planet and In-Space Missions took place on time at 5:19 p.m. EDT (2119 GMT) from Rocket Lab's launch facility in New Zealand and the initial ascent through first stage separation went as planned.

Live video from the Electron's rocketcam dropped off, though, during the second stage burn and, before the company removed it from its live webcast, telemetry showed the rocket losing velocity. The broadcast was ended before confirming orbit insertion.

Update: From Rocket Lab, via Twitter:

An issue was experienced today during Rocket Lab's launch that caused the loss of the vehicle. We are deeply sorry to the customers on board Electron. The issue occurred late in the flight during the 2nd stage burn. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

We lost the flight late into the mission. I am incredibly sorry that we failed to deliver our customers satellites today. Rest assured we will find the issue, correct it and be back on the pad soon.

posted 08-30-2020 10:10 PM               

'I Can't Believe It's Not Optical' is a dedicated mission for Capella Space, an information services company providing Earth observation data on demand.

Capella's payload, 'Sequoia', is a single 100 kg class microsatellite which will be the first publicly available satellite in the company's commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) constellation. By positioning the satellite to a 45-degree inclination, Capella Space will maximize coverage over important areas such as the Middle East, Korea, Japan, Europe, South East Asia, Africa, and the U.S.

The mission name is a nod to Capella's SAR technology that provides high quality images of the Earth day or night, and in any weather conditions. Capella's space-based radar can detect sub-0.5 meter changes on the surface of the Earth, providing insights and data that can be used for security, agricultural and infrastructure monitoring, as well as disaster response and recovery.