Rocket Lab is gearing up for the subsequent flight of its Electron small-satellite launch automobile.
The mission will fly a spacecraft often called “The Moon God Awakens” for Japan-based firm iQPS, which has plans for a constellation of Earth-imaging satellites. This would be the forty second launch for the Electron rocket, which has been grounded since September when a malfunction led to the lack of a mission payload throughout a launch.
On Sunday (Nov. 26), Rocket Lab introduced on X (previously Twitter) that the corporate is now concentrating on no sooner than (NET) Dec. 13 for the upcoming launch.
Associated: September launch failure doubtless brought on by ‘electrical arc,’ Rocket Lab says
That might be depending on a profitable moist costume rehearsal with the Electron rocket, in line with Rocket Lab’s publish on X. That publish additionally indicated a accomplished payload integration for the upcoming mission, which is able to launch from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complicated 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.
In line with statements from Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck launched in a Nov. 8 firm earnings report, the failed Sept. 19 Electron launch stemmed from a brief within the battery packs that energy the rocket’s higher stage.
Beck voiced confidence in Rocket Lab’s investigation into the basis causes of September’s accident, and steered the formal investigation into the matter would shut by the tip of the month. “Electron’s return to flight is scheduled throughout a launch window that opens from November 28, 2023, and extends into December,” the assertion reads.
Payload integration is full for our forty second Electron launch! We’ve acquired a remaining step to clear earlier than launch day – finishing a moist costume rehearsal to substantiate all techniques are prepared for lift-off. As such, we’re at the moment concentrating on no sooner than 13 Dec NZT for the launch of The… pic.twitter.com/0dz60wkxrwNovember 26, 2023
Electron is a two-stage rocket, with a 3rd “kick stage” for orbit-specific payload deliveries. The rocket stands 59 ft tall (18 meters), and is able to launching over 660 kilos (300 kilograms) to low Earth orbit (LEO).
Rocket Lab has launched 41 instances to this point, delivering a complete of 177 satellites to orbit. Earlier than the Sept. 19 failure, its most up-to-date launch mishap occurred in Could 2021 when an Electron rocket suffered a second stage anomaly.
