Update at 7:58 PM ET: rocket lab Canceled tonight’s Electron launch attempt Due to high winds high above NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.Next boot attempt is turned on Monday, December 19thduring a two-hour window that runs from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM ET (2300-0100 Dec 20 GMT).
After years of launching rockets from New Zealand, commercial space company Rocket Lab is ready for its US launch debut.
based in california rocket lab NASA launches its first mission from the continental United States today (December 18) from NASA’s new Launch Complex 2 Wallops Flight Facility On Wallops Island, Virginia.missions using electronic rocket It will take off during a two-hour window that opens at 6:00 PM ET (2300 GMT) to launch three HawkEye 360 satellites into orbit, and can be viewed live for free in the upper window. Rocket Lab will begin a launch webcast approximately 40 minutes before launch.
“Obviously, this is an important milestone for Rocket Lab,” CEO Peter Beck told reporters during a pre-launch briefing on Dec. 14.rocket lab Initially, the launch was scheduled for December 13th.but pushed the liftoff back to complete additional checks, weather and final flight documents.
Related: Rocket Lab’s first US launch could be seen along the East Coast on December 18th
Rocket Lab Launch Visibility!
Rocket Lab’s first US launch could be seen by millions along the East Coast! If you see one, please let us know with a photo and a comment. spacephotos@space.com!
Sunday’s launch, dubbed “Virginia Is For Launch Lovers” (a play on the state’s tourism motto, “Virginia Is For Lovers”), is for Rocket Lab, which aims to serve launch customers around the world. , marking the beginning of a new era of flexibility. The company worked with NASA on Wallops and with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, which oversees commercial launches from Wallops, to develop the new pad.
To date, Rocket Lab has flown missions using two launch pads at Launch Facility 1 on the coast of New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. The US launch pad will allow the company to launch missions for customers requiring a US-based launch, including government and military customers. Beck said.
Rocket Lab opens second launch site It was originally planned to launch its first mission from there in 2020. But that first flight was delayed by two years due to stalled NASA development of a new autonomous flight termination system, a safety system required for Electron launches from Wallops Flight Facility. Rocket Lab uses a version of NASA’s autonomous flight termination system, which the company calls Pegasus, for his Electron flights.
David Pierce, director of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, told reporters that an error was found in the NASA system’s software and was subsequently tested by the US Space Agency. space force and the Federal Aviation Administration were the reason for the delay. NASA and the FAA completed certification of the system before Sunday’s launch trial and approved final launch documents on Saturday (December 17).
“It’s been a very difficult endeavor to get us to this point. I see this as a turning point in range operations, not just for Wallops, but for the United States as a whole,” Pierce said. said Mr.
Rocket Lab’s Virginia Is For Launch Lovers mission is the first of three flights for the Virginia-based HawkEye 360 company to build a constellation of small satellites for radio frequency surveillance.HawkEye Under a multi-launch deal 360 signed in April, Rocket Lab will have 15 small satellites in orbit by 2024.
“These missions will grow HawkEye 360’s constellation of radio frequency monitoring satellites and enable the company to better provide accurate mapping of radio frequency emissions anywhere in the world,” Rocket Lab wrote. . mission description (opens in new tab).
This week we’re announcing some big firsts for Electron. pic.twitter.com/P7Dlq0X01hDecember 13, 2022
Rocket Lab eventually aims to launch one Electron mission per month from the Wallops pad. The company also has a new, A larger reusable rocket called Neutron It also takes off from a US launch site. The rocket’s maiden flight is scheduled for 2024.
Beck said Rocket Lab’s launch team has already learned from handling the first mission at Wallops (the rocket’s components are transported to the site in containers) and the basics of preparing the rocket at the new U.S. pad. is taken over by the new neutron. program. Rocket Lab is also building his Neutron rocket manufacturing facility in Virginia.
“I think we learned a lot from that,” Beck said. “The next few launches will be significantly streamlined.”
But for now, Elektron still needs to make a successful first flight, he added.
“The rocket is ready and on the launch pad,” Beck said. “The team is ready and it’s time to fly.”
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him. @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). To follow @space.com (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab) When Instagram (opens in new tab).
