From the LA Times:
The launch manifest for Los Angeles-based Rocket Lab is starting to fill up. The small-satellite launch company said Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Earth-imaging satellite firm Planet for three dedicated launches on its Electron rocket.
The launches will take place from the company's Mahia Penninsula launch site.
SpaceNews reports:
[...] each launch will carry is still being determined, but will likely be between 20 and 25. Each Dove is a three-unit cubesat with a mass of about five kilograms.
The schedule for the launches will depend on the development of Electron, which has yet to make its first flight. Safyan said that if the Electron test program goes well, the first Planet launch, likely to sun-synchronous orbit, could be as soon as the second quarter of 2017.
Although the terms of the deal weren't announced, Rocket Lab quotes a price of about $5 million (USD) per launch for the Electron.
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"Made it to space. Team delighted. More to follow!" the U.S. company, founded by New Zealander Peter Beck, tweeted at 4:29 p.m. New Zealand time Thursday. It is the first test of the company's Electron Rocket from New Zealand, a country of just 4.7 million people deep in the South Pacific.
Rocket Lab aims to build a New Zealand base from which to launch small satellites into low orbit. The country is considered a prime location because rockets originating deep in the Southern Hemisphere can reach a wide range of Earth orbits.
[...] With a height of 17 meters and a diameter of 1.2 meters, and 3D-printed engines, the Electron Rocket is capable of carrying a maximum payload of 225 kilograms, according to Rocket Lab, whose investors include Lockheed Martin Corp.
Related stories:
Vector Space Completes First Test Flight, Hoping to Expand the Small Satellite Launch Market
"Planet" Purchases 3 Launches from "Rocket Lab"
New Companies Begin to Target the Micro-Satellite Market
Moon Express and Rocket Lab Team Up for 2017 Lunar Mission
Rocket Lab Unveils "Electric" Rocket Engine
Rocket Lab to launch second orbital-class rocket as soon as next week
Rocket Lab's Electron rocket is designed to carry small satellites to orbit, targeting a market niche microsatellite owners say is currently under-served by larger, more expensive boosters. Using nine first stage engines and a single upper stage powerplant, the rocket can deliver up to 330 pounds (150 kilograms) of payload to at 310-mile-high (500-kilometer) sun-synchronous polar orbit.
The upcoming launch will be the second by an Electron rocket. The Electron's inaugural test flight May 25 reached space after a successful first stage burn and second stage ignition, but a data reception error with ground tracking equipment prompted an early termination of the mission for safety reasons.
[...] Backed by U.S. and New Zealand venture capital funds, and investment from the New Zealand government and U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, Rocket Lab says it will sell future Electron rocket missions for $4.9 million per flight. The Electron is sized to provide a dedicated ride for small satellites that today must ride piggyback on bigger launchers.
According to SpaceFlightNow's Launch Schedule: "Launch window: 0130-0530 GMT on 8th (8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. EST on 7th/8th)
Previously: Rocket Lab Unveils "Electric" Rocket Engine
Moon Express and Rocket Lab Team Up for 2017 Lunar Mission
New Companies Begin to Target the Micro-Satellite Market
"Planet" Purchases 3 Launches from "Rocket Lab"
Rocket Lab Makes Suborbital Launch From New Zealand
Related: Vector Space Completes First Test Flight, Hoping to Expand the Small Satellite Launch Market
Vector Space Systems Partners With Virginia Space for Launches
Rocket Lab plans to merge with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), become a publicly traded company, and develop a medium-lift partially reusable rocket. "Neutron" would be competitive with SpaceX's Falcon 9 and capable of launching cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station.
The funding from the SPAC merger will enable another new initiative. Rocket Lab said it is working on a medium-class launch vehicle called Neutron, capable of placing up to 8,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit, more than 20 times the capacity of Electron. The company disclosed few technical details about Neutron, but said that it intends to make the first stage reusable through propulsive landing on an ocean platform, similar to SpaceX's recovery of Falcon 9 first stages.
The new vehicle is intended to support the growing interest in satellite megaconstellations. "Neutron's eight-ton lift capacity will make it ideally sized to deploy satellites in batches to specific orbital planes, creating a more targeted and streamlined approach to building out megaconstellations," Beck said in the statement.
Rocket Lab had previously resisted building a larger vehicle. "There's no market for it," Beck said during a side session of the Smallsat Conference in August 2020. "If you build a larger rocket, you relegate yourself to being purely rideshare, and rideshare is really well-served."
The first Neutron launch is scheduled for 2024 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia. The vehicle will leverage the infrastructure the company built at Launch Complex 2 there for the Electron rocket, which will make its debut from that pad later this year. Rocket Lab said it's "assessing locations across America" for a factory that would handle large-scale production of Neutron.
Previously (company history as seen on SN):
Rocket Lab Unveils "Electric" Rocket Engine
Moon Express and Rocket Lab Team Up for 2017 Lunar Mission
New Companies Begin to Target the Micro-Satellite Market
"Planet" Purchases 3 Launches from "Rocket Lab"
Rocket Lab Makes Suborbital Launch From New Zealand
Launch of Rocket Lab's Second "Electron" Rocket Due Dec. 7-8
Rocket Lab's Second "Electron" Rocket Launch Succeeds, Reaches Orbit
Rocket Lab's Electron Rocket Launched "Humanity Star", a Temporary Source of Light Pollution
Rocket Lab Set to Launch Commercial Payloads on April 20
NASA Awards Launch Contracts to Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit
Rocket Lab Plans to Build its Next Launch Site in the US
Rocket Lab to Build U.S. Launch Site at Wallops Island, Virginia
Rocket Lab's Modest Launch is Giant Leap for Small Rocket Business
Rocket Lab Set to Launch its First Payloads for NASA
Rocket Lab Mission for NASA Successfully Launches 13 CubeSats
Rocket Lab Successfully Launches R3D2 Mission for DARPA
Rocket Lab Will Build Satellites for Launch Customers
Rocket Lab Will Attempt to Recover First Stages Using a Helicopter
Rocket Lab's Guided Reentry Test Moves Company Closer to Partially Reusable Rockets
NASA Selects 18 Research CubeSats as Secondary Payloads; Rocket Lab Will Send CubeSat to Lunar Orbit
After a Second Stage Failure, Rocket Lab Loses Seven Satellites
Rocket Lab Will Resume Missions in August Following Launch Failure
Rocket Lab Secretly Launched its Own Company-made Satellite on Latest Flight
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 14 2016, @10:54PM
You had me at "Rocket Lab quotes a price of about $5," it's the "million" that makes me hesitate.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday July 14 2016, @11:20PM
Compare to SpaceX, the leader in cheap launches:
http://www.spacex.com/about/capabilities [spacex.com]
$62 million for Falcon 9, $90 million for Falcon Heavy. Variable payload based on your desired destination (it seems that you could send 4,020 kg to Mars for $62 million, or more than triple that for $90 million).
The Electron [wikipedia.org] has a payload of 150 kg to a Sun-synchronous orbit for $4.9 million.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday July 14 2016, @11:39PM
I might drive down and have a look at one of these launches.
It's about a 14 hour drive from where I live, but the area is very nice.
The Wikipedia article says people stay at Wairoa and visit from there, but I don't think they do, it's a total dump.
Napier is great though.
You should all come and visit. [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by Absolutely.Geek on Friday July 15 2016, @01:07AM
You must live down south or way up north.
I may also come for a look at the first launch....it is 7 1/2 hrs from New Plymouth where I live.
Don't trust the police or the government - Shihad: My mind's sedate.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Friday July 15 2016, @03:38AM
I live in Auckland. The last time I drove to Gisbourne it took about that long, but to be honest, I'm a bit vague about Mahia.
It's the sort of place you have to want to go to really, it's not on the way to anywhere else is it?
(Score: 2) by Absolutely.Geek on Friday July 15 2016, @03:49AM
It is a bit like New Plymouth; not really on the way to anywhere and you have to have a reason to go.
Don't trust the police or the government - Shihad: My mind's sedate.