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
|
|
Pentagon dismisses $1.2 trillion cost estimate for Golden Dome
Posted: Sat, May 16 9:36 AM ET (1336 GMT) Cowboy Space proposes 20,000 satellite orbital data center constellation
Posted: Sat, May 16 9:33 AM ET (1333 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, May 18
Starlink's big year
Quartz — 7:03 am ET (1103 GMT) SpaceX just forced Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to team up for the first time in history
Teslarati — 7:02 am ET (1102 GMT) Why SpaceX split its stock and 2 more trillion-dollar issues
Barron's — 6:57 am ET (1057 GMT) SpaceX’s next Starship set to blast off Wednesday from Texas
San Antonio Express-News — 6:52 am ET (1052 GMT) Elon Musk Really Needs Starship to Work This Time
Bloomberg News — 6:51 am ET (1051 GMT) |
