spacetoday.net: Electron launches BlackSky satellites

Posted: Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 7:16 PM ET (2316 GMT)
Rocket Lab launched a pair of BlackSky imaging satellites early March 24. An Electron rocket lifted off from the company's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 5:14 am EDT (0914 GMT) and deployed the two Gen-2 satellites into low Earth orbit nearly an hour later. The satellites are likely the last Gen-2 satellites BlackSky will deploy, the company said in an earnings call earlier this month, as it works on higher-resolution Gen-3 satellites it will start launching next year. Rocket Lab also used the launch to test its ability to recover and potentially reuse rocket boosters that splash down in the ocean, an approach it says may be better than trying to catch the boosters with a helicopter.