Грузомакет -- Electron -- Mahia -- 24.05.2017, 00:30 UTC

[che wi]

Rocket Lab‏Verified account @RocketLabUSA · 15 hours ago

Electron standing tall at @RocketLabUSA Launch Complex 1. First test flight in coming months. Stay tuned.

[Чебурашка]

Апрель прошёл.
Как там дела в сране гигантских нелетающих пти? Что нового? Когда пуск?

P.S. Последнее сообщение у них в твиторе посвящено празднованию 12 апреля. Больше ничего

[Alex_II]

Чебурашка пишет:
P.S. Последнее сообщение у них в твиторе посвящено празднованию 12 апреля. Больше ничего

Опохмеляются?

[Тангаж]

 Rocket Lab‏  @RocketLabUSA  11 мая

An exciting day for us as we unveil the mission patch for 'It's a Test - the first ever orbital launch attempt from a private facility.

[Чебурашка]

Патч есть - можно лететь.
Патч самое главное в ракете

[tnt22]

Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 35 мин. назад

Rocket Lab says the first launch of its Electron rocket is now planned for a 10-day window starting in a week:

http://spacenews.com/rocket-lab-sets-date-for-first-electron-launch/

Rocket Lab sets date for first Electron launch
by Jeff Foust — May 14, 2017


Rocket Lab's first Electron rocket, seen here in a hangar at the company's New Zealand launch site, is scheduled for launch during a 10-day window that opens May 21. Credit: Rocket Lab
 
WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab, the U.S.-New Zealand company developing the Electron small launch vehicle, plans to carry out its first flight in a window that opens May 21.

The company announced May 14 that a 10-day window for the first Electron launch, which the company has dubbed "It's a Test," will open at 5 p.m. Eastern May 21 (9 a.m. local time May 22) from the company's launch site at Mahia Peninsula on New Zealand's North Island.

Спойлер

"We are all incredibly excited to get to this point," Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, said in a statement about the planned launch. "Our talented team has been preparing for years for this opportunity and we want to do our best to get it right."
 
The company is setting expectations for a test launch that may suffer delays and could end in failure. "During this first launch attempt it is possible we will scrub multiple attempts as we wait until we are ready and conditions are favorable," Beck said in the statement.

The launch, as the company's name for it emphasizes, is a test flight, with no satellite payload on board. The launch is the first of three such test flights Rocket Lab plans before beginning commercial launches later this year.

Rocket Lab plans to carry out the launch largely out of public view. The company said a press kit about the mission that there will be no public viewing sites in the vicinity of its New Zealand launch site for this mission. There are also no plans to webcast the launch, although the company said it will provide video footage "following a successful launch."

Although Rocket Lab is launching from New Zealand, the company is headquartered in the United States, and thus will require a launch license from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for this and future Electron missions. As of May 14, the FAA had not published a launch license for this flight.
 
The Electron is a small launch vehicle capable of placing up to 150 kilograms into a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. The rocket's first stage is powered by nine Rutherford engines, burning liquid oxygen and kerosene for two and a half minutes. A single modified Rutherford engine is used on the second stage, which releases the rocket's payload into orbit seven and a half minutes after liftoff.

Rocket Lab had planned to launch Electron last year, but suffered delays because of both vehicle and launch site development. In a March interview, Beck said he still hoped to perform five to seven launches this year, including the three test launches and initial commercial missions.

Among its customers is Moon Express, a Florida-based company facing a deadline of the end of this year to launch its commercial lunar lander in the Google Lunar X Prize competition. Other customers include NASA, who awarded the company a Venture Class Launch Services contract in 2015, and Planet and Spire, two companies developing constellations of Earth-monitoring cubesats.

In March, Rocket Lab announced that it had raised $75 million in a Series D financing round, led by two venture capital firms, Data Collective and Promus. The company has raised $148 million to date, and said the new round would allow it to increase Electron production capacity.

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLabUSA 5 ч назад

On May 22 NZST, we will open a 10 day window in which our team will attempt a first launch of our Electron rocket.

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/latest/electron-test-window/

Electron Test Launch Window Announced
Posted on 15 May 2017
 


Here we go! We are about to open a 10 day launch attempt window from May 22, 2017, for the first launch attempt of our Electron rocket.

The launch, titled 'It's a Test', will take place from our private orbital launch site, Launch Complex 1, on the Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand.

This is a significant milestone for Rocket Lab and the space industry globally. We are about to enter the next phase of the Electron program, which will see the culmination of years of work from our dedicated team here at Rocket Lab.

'It's a Test' is all about gathering data. There are over 20,000 channels collected during the flight. We will use this information to learn and iterate.

Спойлер

As with any new rocket, there are a lot of factors that come together ahead of a test and we're not going to fly unless we're ready. It's highly possible we will scrub multiple attempts as we fine tune and wait for favorable weather conditions.

We're committed to making space accessible. Thanks for your interest and support - it means a lot to us.

[свернуть]

Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Pete

[tnt22]

Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLabUSA 3 ч. назад

Target for 'It's a Test' - an elliptical orbit, varying between 300 - 500km at an 83 degree inclination.

[Алексей]

Не уверен что полетит с первого раза, но весь проект с самого начала выглядит очень серьезно - испытания, сборка, стартовый комплекс.

[instml]

Это ж не Маск с его ножницами для обрезания сопел ЖРД

[PIN]

Алексей пишет:
проект с самого начала выглядит очень серьезно

Работает таки черный цвет!

[Чебурашка]

А если успешно улетит, на какую страну запишут пуск? Новую Зеландию?

[Тангаж]

Чебурашка пишет:
А если успешно улетит, на какую страну запишут пуск? Новую Зеландию?

Раньше Rocket Lab была новозеландской компанией со штаб-квартирой в Окленде, сейчас это американская компания со головным офисом в Лос-Анджелесе (и новозеландским подразделением). По идее - пуск американский. Хотя если пуск осуществляет оклендский филиал и (к примеру) юридически РН находится в его собственности, то фиг знает.

[Max Andriyahov]

Разрешение на старт получают в американской FAA

[Тангаж]

Rocket Lab @RocketLabUSA  18 мин

We successfully completed a wet dress rehearsal at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 today. Let's hope for the same weather next week! #ItsaTest

[tnt22]

Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLabUSA 12 ч. назад

Rutherford is specifically designed for Electron and is the first of its kind to use 3D printing for all primary components #ItsaTest

[tnt22]

The FAA‏Подлинная учетная запись @FAANews 6 ч. назад

.@faanews has licensed the @RocketLabUSA Electron rocket launch in New Zealand. Learn more: http://bit.ly/2qp1Wqi  #FAASpace

LLS 17-095 - Rocket Lab USA - License and Orders 2017-05-15.pdf - 132499 B, 4 стр.
1-я стр
 

[tnt22]

Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLabUSA 2 ч. назад

Rocket Lab is pleased to welcome new customer @SpaceflightInc to our launch manifest! http://bit.ly/2pMDQqF 

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/latest/rocket-lab-signs-launch-contract-with-spaceflight/

Rocket Lab Signs Launch Contract with Spaceflight
Posted on 18 May 2017
 

 
Rocket Lab today announces a new customer contract with Spaceflight, the launch services and mission management provider. Spaceflight has purchased an Electron rocket to increase the frequency of its dedicated rideshare missions.

Dedicated rideshare for smallsats is a launch where several payloads share the same vehicle to a specific destination. An an entirely carbon-composite vehicle, designed to carry payloads of 225kg to an elliptical orbit and up to 150kg to a nominal 500km sun synchronous low earth orbit, the Electron is ideal for dedicated rideshare missions. It is especially suited to those serving difficult-to-come-by launch destinations, such as mid-inclination orbits for remote sensing satellites.

Спойлер

Curt Blake, President of Spaceflight's launch business, said, "There are numerous rideshare launches each year to Sun Synchronous Orbit, but getting to 45 to 60 degrees is hard to find, and can cost the equivalent of buying an entire rocket. We are thrilled to be working with Rocket Lab to enable our customers' remote sensing missions that require high revisit time over North America, Europe, and the Middle East."

Peter Beck, Rocket Lab CEO, added, "We are incredibly excited about the upcoming test launch of the Electron, which will take us one step closer towards the commercial phase of our program. We are delighted that Spaceflight has chosen to sign up as a customer ahead of testing, reflecting confidence in Electron and its ability to provide frequent launch opportunities to low Earth orbit."

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

Rocket Lab‏Подлинная учетная запись @RocketLabUSA 5 ч назад

Mission Control (MCC) is the technological hive of Rocket Lab where more than 25,000 data channels are processed during a launch #ItsaTest

[Apollo13]

Извиняюсь не туда запостил