Rocket Lab

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Rocket Lab Ltd.

logo
legal form Corporation
Seat los Angeles
management Peter Beck , CEO
Branch Missile development and manufacture
Website www.rocketlabusa.com

Rocket Lab is a Los Angeles-based company (formerly Auckland ) that operates a rocket launch site in New Zealand. It was originally called Rocket Lab Ltd. Founded in 2006 by Peter Beck in New Zealand. It designs and manufactures the Electron launcher to put small satellites into orbit.

The main investors are Khosla Ventures , Bessemer Venture Partners, Data Collective, Promus Ventures, Lockheed Martin and K1W1. The company has also received funding from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology , for which Peter Beck worked as a scientist.

Ātea

Rocket Lab initially developed the sounding rocket Ātea-1 ( Māori for 'space'), which only completed one launch. The 6 m long and 60 kg heavy rocket should be able to bring 2 kg payload to a height of 120 km. It should carry small scientific payloads and possibly personal items as well.

Ātea-1 was successfully launched from Great Mercury Island near Coromandel on November 30, 2009.

A larger Ātea-2 was planned, but was not implemented.

Electron

In December 2010, Rocket Lab signed a contract with the Operationally Responsive Space Office (ORS) to develop low-cost launch vehicles for small satellites. A two- to three-stage rocket called Electron was built , which can bring payloads of up to 225 kg into earth orbit. The Mahia Peninsula on the east coast of the North Island was chosen as the launch site ; construction work for the so-called Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 began in March 2016. The first of three test flights took place on May 25, 2017 at 6:20 am CET and ended in failure. The second test flight was carried out on January 21, 2018 and successfully put three Cubesats into orbit.

photon

The optional third stage (the “ kick stage ”) of the Electron will also be available as a satellite bus called “Photon” from 2020 . Photon provides a 28-volt power supply as well as S-band communication and 1  terabyte of data storage. The payload can weigh up to 170 kg and remain in orbit with photon for at least five years. Rocket Lab would like to act as a satellite manufacturer itself and integrate the customers' payloads into satellites with Photon.

Starting places

Rocket Lab has had the already described launch site in New Zealand since 2016 . In addition, agreements are to exist with NASA on the use of launch sites in the Kennedy Space Center and with the Alaska Aerospace Corporation on the use of the Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska ; However, both are not yet equipped for electron starts. In October 2018, Rocket Lab announced the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport as the location for Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 . Sutherland Spaceport in the Scottish Highlands, which is currently being planned, is being discussed as a third location .

Web links

Commons : Rocket Lab  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ātea-1 . Rocket Lab , 2009, archived from the original on October 11, 2009 ; accessed on May 4, 2018 (English, original website no longer available).
  2. ↑ Rocket project gears for take off . In: The New Zealand Herald , August 15, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2009. 
  3. ^ Rob Goldsmith: Rocket lab primed to launch new zealand's first rocket into space . In: Space Fellowship website , November 16, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2009. 
  4. ↑ NZ's first space launch saved by $ 6 replacement part . In: The New Zealand Herald . November 30, 2009. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  5. ↑ Ātea-2 technical specifications ( Memento from October 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Rocket Lab News ( Memento of July 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive ): "December 2010 - Rocket Lab was awarded a US contract from the Operationally Responsive Space Office (ORS) to study low cost international alternatives. Included in this study is a 640,000 Ns booster, a miniature avionics system and a launch vehicle to place small mass satellites into polar and low Earth orbits. "
  7. ^ NZ set to join the space age . In: Stuff.co.nz , October 9, 2009. Retrieved November 22, 2011. 
  8. ↑ electron. January 1, 2016, accessed April 9, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Debbie Gregory and Andrew Ashton: Rocket Lab chooses Mahia for space launches. Gisborne Herald, November 24, 2015, accessed March 16, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Rocketlab: Construction begins on Rocket Lab's Orbital Launch Site. Accessed March 16, 2016 .
  11. ↑ Spaceflightnow: Maiden flight of Rocket Lab's small satellite launcher reaches space. May 25, 2017, accessed May 28, 2017 .
  12. ↑ Stephen Clark: Live coverage: Test flight of Rocket Lab's satellite launcher set for today. In: Spaceflight Now. January 21, 2018, accessed January 21, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Loren Grush: Rocket Lab is now building customizable satellites. In: The Verge . April 9, 2019, accessed April 9, 2019 .
  14. ↑ photon. Rocket Lab, accessed April 9, 2019 .
  15. ^ Tariq Malik: Rocket Lab Picks Virginia Spaceport As US Launch Site for Small Satellites. In: Space.com. October 17, 2018, accessed September 9, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Rocket men: locals divided over plans for UK's first spaceport. In: The Guardian. July 16, 2018, accessed September 9, 2019 .