Rocket Lab launches Electron in reusability test
Posted: Sun, Dec 8, 2019, 11:05 AM ET (1605 GMT)
Rocket Lab successfully launched several smallsats early Friday on a mission that also tested the ability to recover the Electron's first stage. The Electron lifted off at 3:18 am EST (0818 GMT) from the company's New Zealand launch site and placed seven smallsats into low Earth orbit. Those satellites include one from a Japanese company intended to create artificial meteor showers and six "PocketQube" satellites for a variety of technology demonstrations. The Electron's first stage was upgraded for this mission with technologies to enable it to make a guided re-entry, and the company said initial results of that test looked promising as the company plans to eventually recover and reuse the stage. The launch was the sixth and final Electron mission of 2019.
Rocket Lab successfully launched several smallsats early Friday on a mission that also tested the ability to recover the Electron's first stage. The Electron lifted off at 3:18 am EST (0818 GMT) from the company's New Zealand launch site and placed seven smallsats into low Earth orbit. Those satellites include one from a Japanese company intended to create artificial meteor showers and six "PocketQube" satellites for a variety of technology demonstrations. The Electron's first stage was upgraded for this mission with technologies to enable it to make a guided re-entry, and the company said initial results of that test looked promising as the company plans to eventually recover and reuse the stage. The launch was the sixth and final Electron mission of 2019.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Apex becomes billion-dollar company with $200 million Series D round
Posted: Sun, Sep 14 4:09 AM ET (0809 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, September 15
Elon Musk's Starlink reports service outage, thousands of users affected
Reuters — 1:23 am ET (0523 GMT) What does the loss of U.S. Space Command mean to Colorado Springs?
Denver Post — 1:21 am ET (0521 GMT) SpaceX Launches Northrop Grumman Cargo Ship To ISS
Aviation Week — 1:18 am ET (0518 GMT) SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Sunday
WESH-TV Orlando — 1:18 am ET (0518 GMT) Apollo 13 made Jim Lovell a legend generations after the space race
The Hill — 1:09 am ET (0509 GMT) |
