наноспутники Lemur-2 – Electron – Mahia – 11.11.2018 03:50 UTC

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Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLab 47 мин. назад

No launch attempt tomorrow. Team is standing down due to weather. Meantime, crews are on their way to Chatham Islands with spare parts for the dish that caused today's scrub. Next attempt on Monday 25 June NZST, weather pending.

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Rocket Lab Electron "It's Business Time" scrubbed launch

SciNews

Опубликовано: 22 июн. 2018 г.

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket first commercial launch, nicknamed "It's Business Time", was scrubbed due to technical reasons on 23 June 2018. According to Rocket Labs, next attempt will be "on Monday 25 June NZST, weather pending", from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.

Credit:
Photos and videos courtesy of Rocket Lab

(2:05)

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/06/23/ground-antenna-problem-scrubs-rocket-labs-first-commercial-launch/

Ground antenna problem scrubs Rocket Lab's first commercial launch
June 23, 2018 | Stephen Clark


A view of the Electron rocket on its launch pad in New Zealand shortly after Rocket Lab scrubbed the launch attempt. Credit: Rocket Lab

Problems with a downrange tracking station kept Rocket Lab's Electron launcher on the ground in New Zealand Friday, U.S. time, and the company ordered a two-day delay to Sunday, allowing time to resolve the issues and wait for improved weather.

The next launch attempt is planned during a four-hour window opening at 8:30 p.m. EDT Sunday (0030 GMT; 12:30 p.m. New Zealand time Monday).

After waiting vehicle components to warm up on a chilly winter morning in New Zealand, the 55-foot-tall (17-meter) Electron rocket was loaded with a mixture of kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants Friday. But the launch team halted the countdown at T-minus 23 minutes, and officials eventually declared the launch attempt scrubbed after initially hoping to fix the downrange tracking station problems.

Rocket Lab employs a communications facility in the Chatham Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, to relay data fr om the Electron during launch. A dish antenna at the site is supposed to track the Electron booster as it flies across the sky, a few minutes after blastoff from Rocket Lab's launch site on Mahia Peninsula, located on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island.

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Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's founder and CEO, tweeted that the ground station is also required for a "solid live stream" of the launch, referencing the antenna's importance to capture on-board video and telemetry for distribution on the company's webcast.

Five satellites are packaged inside the Electron rocket's nose cone. A kick stage will place the payloads into polar orbit around 300 miles (500 kilometers) above Earth.

The CubeSats aboard the Electron rocket include two Lemur-2 nanosatellites — each about the size of a shoebox — for Spire Global, a San Francisco-based company which collects commercial weather data and tracks ship movements. There is also a small satellite for GeoOptics, another California-headquartered company, launching on top of the Electron rocket to begin its own commercial weather surveillance mission.

Originally set for April, Rocket Lab's first commercial mission was delayed two months after engineers noticed "unusual behavior" in a DC motor controller driving turbopumps on the rocket's first stage, according to Beck.

"We took our time to really drill down and make sure we fully understood the cause because from here on out, we're looking at a very high clip of manufacturing and launch for the rest of the year," he said in an interview earlier this week. "The last thing we want to do is interrupt our manufacturing and launch flow with any kind of unresolved issue."

By the end of the year, Rocket Lab aims to achieve a launch cadence of one flight per month.

The U.S.-New Zealand company's privately-developed Electron rocket has launched two times to date. It successfully reached orbit on the second launch in January, and Rocket Lab announced it would proceed into commercial operations with the third mission, which officials have nicknamed "It's Business Time."

Rocket Lab took advantage of the two-month delay to add two more payloads to the "It's Business Time" mission.

One of the new satellite passengers is Irvine01, a educational CubeSat built by California high school students. Irvine01 is part of the Irvine CubeSat STEM Program, comprising members from six high schools in Irvine, California.

The other payload added to the next Electron launch is a drag sail technology demonstrator named NABEO. Developed by High Performance Space Structure Systems in Germany, the NABEO small satellite mission will test a deployable 27-square-foot (2.5-square-meter) membrane using aerodynamic drag to slow down and de-orbit, a capability that could reduce space junk in low Earth orbit.

According to Beck, automated analysis tools and faster turnarounds in licensing and regulatory approvals made the late accommodation of Irvine01 and NABEO nanosatellites possible.

"Rocket Lab is a third about the rocket, a third about regulatory, and a third about infrastructure," Beck said. "While the rocket is always the exciting bit that everybody gravitates to, actually the other two pieces here are equally important if we really want to move the needle on the space industry."

"Usually, you talk about launch minus so many months to manifest a payload," he said. "We've been working very closely with the regulatory authorities to put in place mechanisms wh ere we can do these kinds of things in a very quick way that satisfies all the regulatory constraints, but also developing tools for the launch vehicle for doing coupled loads analysis for adding new spacecraft

"So (we've been) automating some of those processes and building the tools so that we can really turn these payload quickly. That's the whole point of what we're trying to achieve — regular and reliable service to orbit. Unfortunately, it's nowhwere near as exciting as the rocket, but actually it's incredibly critical."

Because of its U.S. headquarters, Rocket Lab operates under U.S. regulatory authority, with the Federal Aviation Administration responsible for licensing the companies launch operations, despite the launch site's location in New Zealand. Other U.S. regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Communications Commission, grant approvals for U.S.-owned satellites.

"We had a very short window," Beck said. "We had an opportunity to fly these two important payloads. We reached out to the regulators and said, 'Hey, look, we think these are important. Let's work together to get them on.' And the answer was, 'Yes, let's do that.'"

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Peter Beck‏ @Peter_J_Beck 4 ч. назад

Chatham's all fixed, livestream saved! Weather only low chance of lift off so we will wait for another day.

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Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLab 4 ч. назад

It's Business Time launch update: The down range tracking dish is now up and running, but weather conditions for Monday 25 June NZST are unfavorable so no launch attempt tomorrow. Now targeting no earlier than 12:30 pm, Tuesday 26 June NZST (00:30 UTC) for launch

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Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLab 3 ч. назад

Forecast poor weather continues tomorrow, so we're going to take it as a rest day to give us wider windows later in the week. Currently targeting no earlier than 12:30 pm (00:30 UTC) Wednesday 27 June for launch.
#EverythingIsJustRightOnAWednesday

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Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLab 3 ч. назад

New targeted launch date:
NZST: June 27, 12:30pm
UTC: June 27, 00:30
EDT: June 26, 8:30pm
PDT: June 26, 5:30pm

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Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLab 28 мин. назад

T-1 day. #ItsBusinessTime Another stunning snap at Launch Complex 1 from @Kieran__Fanning

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Kieran Fanning‏ @Kieran__Fanning 10 мин. назад

"Flight, this is WSE on breakfast net. At this time I can confirm vehicle fill operations have begun"

#itscoffeetime #rocketlab #electron

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Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLab 10 мин. назад

Electron is vertical on the pad! Winds are high at LC-1, but forecast to ease closer to the window. Today's 4-hour launch window opens at 12:30 pm NZST (00:30 UTC). Livestream at http://www.rocketlabusa.com/live-stream  . Webcast starts approx. 20 mins prior to target T-0.

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Peter Beck‏ @Peter_J_Beck 6 мин. назад

Weather slowly calming down. The team started the day in horizontal rain and high winds.

[Василий Ратников]

устал я от них )
что не золотуха так понос )
понятно что они тут не для соответствия моим ожиданиям

будем посмотреть, а так глядишь еще на пару месяцев перенесут запуск.

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Peter Beck‏ @Peter_J_Beck 2 мин. назад

T-0 set to 02:10 UTC, weather improving.

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Peter Beck‏ @Peter_J_Beck 26 мин. назад

Starting LOX fill.

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Трансляция RocketLab

youtube.com/watch?v=hHPtSfjoF8A

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Peter Beck‏ @Peter_J_Beck 21 с. назад

Looks like we did not totally resolve the controller from last attempt. Similar behaviour.

Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLab 6 мин. назад

The team has identified an issue with the motor controller, so we're scrubbing for the day to review data. Stay tuned for updates!

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/06/27/rocket-labs-first-commercial-launch-scrubbed-again/

Rocket Lab's first commercial launch scrubbed again
June 27, 2018 | Stephen Clark


Rocket Lab's Electron rocket on its launch pad in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab

The liftoff of a Rocket Lab Electron booster from New Zealand with five U.S.- and German-built nanosatellites was grounded Tuesday, U.S. time, after engineers identified a problem with a motor controller on the two-stage launcher.

Rocket Lab officials did not immediately set a new target launch date, as engineers examine the motor controller issue, an apparent recurrence of a problem encountered during a countdown rehearsal in April, according to Peter Beck, the company's founder and CEO.

Спойлер

Beck said in an interview last week that during a wet dress rehearsal in April, Rocket Lab's launch team noticed "unusual behavior" in a DC motor controller driving turbopumps on the rocket's first stage.

The Electron's Rutherford engines use electrically-powered turbopumps, not the gas-driven turbines used on other rockets. That makes the engines simpler and lighter, according to Rocket Lab.

Engineers studying the motor behavior concluded it was "not a hardware issue," Beck told Spaceflight Now last week. "It was completely a process issue with production."

Rocket Lab delayed the launch from April until June to investigate the motor controller problem.

"We took our time to really drill down and make sure we fully understood the cause because from here on out, we're looking at a very high clip of manufacturing and launch for the rest of the year," Beck said. "The last thing we want to do is interrupt our manufacturing and launch flow with any kind of unresolved issue."

By the end of the year, Rocket Lab aims to achieve a launch cadence of one flight per month.

But the glitch observed during Tuesday's countdown (Wednesday in New Zealand) suggests Rocket Lab has more work to do on the motor controller.

Rocket Lab's privately-developed, 55-foot-tall (17-meter) Electron rocket is sized to carry up to 330 pounds (150 kilograms) into a 310-mile-high (500-kilometer) orbit for less than $5 million. Headquartered in Huntington Beach, California, with a launch base on New Zealand's North Island, Rocket Lab aims to carve a niche in the launch market carrying lightweight CubeSats and microsatellites into orbit.

After reaching orbit in January on its second test flight, Rocket Lab is proceeding into commercial operations with the third Electron launch, which is nicknamed "It's Business Time."

A launch attempt on Friday, U.S. time, was scrubbed due to a problem with a downrange tracking station in the Chatham Islands. Rocket Lab bypassed launch opportunities over the following three days due to poor weather, then tried again Tuesday before engineers identified the motor controller issue.

Rocket Lab has four-hour launch windows available each day through July 5, U.S. time (July 6 in New Zealand).

Two of satellites stowed inside the nose of the Electron rocket are owned by Spire Global, a San Francisco-based company which builds and operates a fleet of CubeSats collecting weather data and tracking maritime traffic. Another California-based company, GeoOptics, is also launching a small satellite for its own commercial weather monitoring constellation.

The Electron rocket will also launch a German-built craft to test an aerodynamic drag sail that could be used to de-orbit future satellites and help clear space junk out of orbit. A CubeSat named Irvine01 built by Southern California high school students is also set for liftoff on the Electron rocket.

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Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLab 32 мин. назад

No launch attempt today. The team is taking the day to review data from yesterday's motor controller issue. New target T-0 is being assessed.

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Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLab 3 ч. назад

The team is standing down from this launch window to take a closer look at the motor controller behavior again. We're still not happy with the data, and as we all know, the only metric that counts in the launch business is 100% mission success.

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Peter Beck‏ @Peter_J_Beck 3 ч. назад

Will be back on the pad shortly.
#OnlyPerfectIsGoodEnough