Rocket Lab sets return to flight mission launch date for mid-December

Rocket Lab completed payload integration of the Japanese iQPS satellite at its facility in New Zealand. The company now has a wet dress rehearsal to complete ahead of a launch, which has a NET date set for December 13.

Rocket Lab sets next launch date for December

In a post on social media, Rocket Lab shared a photo of its next payload, a synthetic aperture radar satellite from Japanese company iQPS, being integrated to its Electron rocket. The company also shared that the launch is set for no earlier than December 13.

Called TSUKUYOMI-I, it is the fifth SAR satellite from iQPS with the first two being prototypes and the second two being full scale production satellites. Sadly, those production satellites failed to reach orbit after launching on a Japanese Epsilon rocket in 2022.

Payload integration is complete for our 42nd Electron launch!

We’ve got a final step to clear before launch day – completing a wet dress rehearsal to confirm all systems are ready for lift-off. As such, we’re currently targeting no earlier than 13 Dec NZT for the launch of The… pic.twitter.com/0dz60wkxrw

— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) November 26, 2023

This will be Rocket Lab’s return to flight mission after its last Electron rocket suffered a failure on its second stage shortly after engine ignition.

This failure has since been identified and changes have been made to ensure it won’t happen again. The actual source of the failure was a rather complex and rare electrical arch that shorted out the system on the second stage. Something that was extremely difficult to test on the ground due to need for very specific conditions to occur.

Before launching, Rocket Lab will still need to conduct a wet dress rehearsal, something they do for all of its missions. Then the payload inside its fairings will be attached to the rest of the rocket, brought vertical, and launched.

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Final Electron launch of the year?

This mission will be Rocket Lab’s 10th launch of the year. However, only its 9th successful one. So I guess we’ll have to figure out if this year counts as Rocket Lab’s first double digit year or not.

With the launch set for no earlier than December 13, that doesn’t give the company a lot of time before the New Year comes a knocking. So will this iQPS mission be the last for the company before we have to reset our launch statistics?

A good chance, but there are still several mission still slated to launch by the end of the year. However, those times come pre-failure investigation. Also, we haven’t seen a lot of fast turnarounds from Rocket Lab unlike SpaceX, as the SmallSat launcher doesn’t share a goal to launch as much as possible. Rather Rocket Lab enjoys launching when its ready.

So far Rocket Lab hasn’t said anything about this being their only launch in December, however, in their Q3 earnings report they have shared lower revenue numbers for launches than previous quarters.

What could show up out of no where is a HASTE flight from Virginia. Rocket Lab usually doesn’t announce these ahead of time and they can only be predicted when watching for flight restrictions from the FAA.