Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Launch Complex 1A, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Destination: Low Earth Orbit
The “There and Back Again” mission, Rocket Lab’s 26th Electron launch, will lift off from Pad A at Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula within a 14-day launch window scheduled to commence on April 19, 2022 UTC. Electron will deploy 34 payloads from commercial operators Alba Orbital, Astrix Astronautics, Aurora Propulsion Technologies, E-Space, Unseenlabs, and Swarm Technologies via global launch services provider Spaceflight Inc. The launch is expected to bring the total number of satellites launched by Electron to 146. Delayed from Apr 22, 27, 28, 29 due to unfavorable weather in the recovery area.
For the first time, Rocket Lab will also attempt a mid-air capture of Electron’s first stage as it returns from space after launch, the next major step in the Company’s development program to make Electron a reusable rocket. Rocket Lab will be attempting the catch with a customized Sikorsky S-92, a large twin engine helicopter typically used in offshore oil & gas transport and search and rescue operations.
ELECTRON ROCKET INFO:
Core components of the 1st, 2nd, and Kick Stage engines are 3D printed!
Engine print time: 24 hours
Height: 17 m
Diameter: 1.2 m
Stages: 2
Nominal Payload: 150 kg
Max Payload: 225 kg
Nominal Sun-Synchronous Orbit: 500 km
Fuel (stage 1 & 2): RP-1 + LOX
1st Stage Engines: 9x Rutherford
1st Stage Initial Thrust: 162 kN (34,500 lbf)
1st Stage Peak Thrust: 192 kN (41,500 lbf)
1st Stage Specific Impulse (ISP): 303 sec
2nd Stage Engine: 1x Rutherford
2nd Stage Total Thrust: 22 kN (5,000 lbf)
2nd Stage Specific Impulse (ISP): 333 sec
Kick Stage Total Thrust: 120N
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