Rocket Lab

We have another busy week ahead with four launches scheduled around the globe, all from different companies. Check out below to see what is launching.

Thursday evening Rocket Lab launched once again from its Virginia launch site at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. This was the company’s second launch of the year, both coming from LC-2.

Last week, the US saw the second biggest bank closure in history, with the FDIC taking over Silicon Valley Bank. While SVB specialized in tech startups, space companies also used the bank, including Astra, Rocket Lab, and more.

Probably the two biggest things Rocket Lab is currently working on perfecting this year and in the coming years are tasks its CEO said would never happen. One of those is recovering the Electron’s first stage booster, something that might have a detour from its original idea.

After about a three-year delay due to multiple reasons, Rocket Lab can now be added to the list of companies that launch out of the US. Yesterday the company lifted off from LC-2, its second launch complex out of Wallops Island, Virginia, a pad it started construction on in 2019.

Rocket Lab’s Electron launch program is finally starting to take off, with a chance to surpass double-digit launches this year. However, the development of the company’s next launcher, Neutron, is in full swing, with facilities built and hardware being produced.

Rocket Lab just completed its 8th successful launch of the year. “It Argos Up From Here” saw their Electron rocket put ARGOS-4 into orbit for the NOAA.

Rocket Lab, the leader of the SmallSat launch market, has completed its “Back to Back” launch campaign for the National Reconnaissance Office. This marks a major cadence milestone for the company working to become the SpaceX of SmallSat launches.

Rocket Lab launched the first Artemis program mission, called CAPSTONE, from its launch site in New Zealand on June 28. Its purpose? Testing out the orbit and procedures for where NASA’s proposed Gateway space station will be.

Earlier today, Rocket Lab launched its ‘There and Back Again’ mission. This was the first Electron launch to feature an air-based recovery, using a helicopter to catch the first stage that was descending under parachute. While the catch seemed good, and Rocket Lab confirmed success, groans heard from mission control made it clear that all was not quite as expected.

Reusability is a growing trend in spaceflight – from reusable capsules, space planes, and rocket boosters. Rocket Lab is going all-in on reusability with its Neutron rocket, as is SpaceX with its Starship, but before then, Rocket Lab has adapted and improved its Electron rocket for recovery and reuse.

Rocket Lab announced a new agreement to launch fifteen satellites for HawkEye 360, a Virginia-based geospatial analytics company. The first of these mission, which will be a rideshare mission, is expected to launch no earlier than December 2022, and will be the company’s first launch from the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia.

In a ceremony on Monday, Rocket Lab broke ground on a new facility for the company’s upcoming Neutron rocket. Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck was joined by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, the director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Dennis Andrucyk, the director of Wallops Flight Facility Dave Pierce, and others for the groundbreaking ceremony.

Announced on April 2, Rocket Lab‘s next launch of its Electron rocket will feature the first stage mid-air recovery of the rocket’s first stage. Here is how Rocket Lab will attempt to catch and reuse its smallsat rockets.

Rocket Lab announced on February 28 that it will build, launch, and land its Neutron rocket in Virginia near NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and the company’s US-based launch complex.

Rocket Lab has been working on adding multiple launch locations for its Electron rocket for the past few years. Finally, the company’s second pad in New Zealand is ready, and Rocket Lab is showing it off with dual rockets.