Author Topic: Electron - Fl 18 Another 1 Leaves the Crust - LC1 - 20 Jan 2021 (0726Z)  (Read 29207 times)

Offline zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11183
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 7405
  • Likes Given: 72488
Cross-post:
https://www.rocketlabusa.com/about-us/updates/rocket-lab-successfully-launches-17th-electron-mission-deploys-sar-satellite-for-synspective/
Quote
Details about Rocket Lab's 18th Electron launch will be announced shortly, with the next mission scheduled to take place from Launch Complex 1 early in the new year.
« Last Edit: 01/20/2021 09:05 pm by input~2 »
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
Re: Electron - Flight 18 - LC1 - early 2021
« Reply #1 on: 01/05/2021 07:26 pm »
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1346553490772881410

Quote
We're kicking 2021 off with a dedicated mission for OHB Group. The 10-day launch window opens January 16th UTC. Electron will lift off from LC-1 in the evening, so get ready for another spectacular night launch.

Offline Skyrocket

  • Extreme Veteran
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2631
  • Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • Liked: 940
  • Likes Given: 172
Does anyone know the name of the payload? When the contract was signed, the press release only mentioned a dedicated launch for an OHB comsat.

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/about-us/updates/rocket-lab-to-launch-dedicated-mission-for-european-space-technology-company-ohb-group/

Online Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39215
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 32735
  • Likes Given: 8180
Does anyone know the name of the payload?

The mission patch says "OHB Cosmos", but that seems to be referring to the launch service procurer "OHB Cosmos International Launch Service GmbH". Cosmos might be used for the satellite name, but that's only a guess.

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/next-mission/

"The mission will launch a single communication microsatellite for OHB Group that will enable specific frequencies to support future services from orbit. The launch will be Rocket Lab’s 18th Electron mission and was procured for OHB Group through OHB Cosmos International Launch Service GmbH, the launch service division of OHB Group. OHB Cosmos is responsible for launching the spacecraft built by the Group's satellite manufacturers based in Germany, Sweden, and Czech Republic."
« Last Edit: 01/06/2021 07:32 am by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline SMS

  • Regular
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3213
    • Astronauts & their spaceflights
  • Liked: 2164
  • Likes Given: 249
---
SMS ;-).

Offline otter

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 626
  • Belarus
  • Liked: 581
  • Likes Given: 48
B0082/21 NOTAMN
Q) NZZO/QRDCA/IV/BO /W /000/999/5719S17400E542
A) NZZO B) 2101160700 C) 2101160825
E) TEMPO DANGER AREA NZD093 (SOUTH AUCKLAND OCEANIC FIR) IS PRESCRIBED AS FLW:
ALL THAT AIRSPACE BOUNDED BY A LINE JOINING
50 06 00 S 177 18 00 E
66 00 00 S 178 00 00 E
66 00 00 S 170 00 00 E
48 30 00 S 172 24 00 E
50 06 00 S 177 18 00 E
ACTIVITY: ROCKET LAUNCH AND SPACE DEBRIS RETURN USING AGENCY: ROCKET LAB RANGE CONTROL CENTRE, TEL +64 28 255 11638
PRESCRIBED PURSUANT TO CIVIL AVIATION RULE PART 71 UNDER A DELEGATED AUTHORITY ISSUED BY THE DIRECTOR OF CIVIL AVIATION
F) SFC G) FL999

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1348422826244521986

Quote
Payload integration is complete at LC-1! Next up is wet dress rehearsal, one of the last steps before we go to space again.

Launch window for #AnotherOneLeavesTheCrust:
NZT: 20:38 - 20:45 (16 Jan)
UTC: 07:38 - 07:45 (16 Jan)
ET: 02:38 - 02:45 (16 Jan)
PT: 23:38 - 23:45 (15 Jan)

Offline russianhalo117

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8755
  • Liked: 4673
  • Likes Given: 768
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1348422826244521986

Quote
Payload integration is complete at LC-1! Next up is wet dress rehearsal, one of the last steps before we go to space again.

Launch window for #AnotherOneLeavesTheCrust:
NZT: 20:38 - 20:45 (16 Jan)
UTC: 07:38 - 07:45 (16 Jan)
ET: 02:38 - 02:45 (16 Jan)
PT: 23:38 - 23:45 (15 Jan)
Payload is GMS-T (possibly bus name)

Offline Ken the Bin

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2754
  • US Pacific Time Zone
    • @kenthebin@spacey.space
  • Liked: 5141
  • Likes Given: 5543
I received these notices from the NGA:

Quote from: NGA
111012Z JAN 21
HYDROPAC 129/21(76).
WESTERN SOUTH PACIFIC.
NEW ZEALAND.
DNC 06.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   0530Z TO 0820Z DAILY 16 THRU 25 JAN
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 39-13.20S 177-50.80E, 39-13.02S 177-58.32E,
      39-19.15S 178-02.93E, 39-40.01S 177-52.01E,
      39-40.00S 177-43.00E, 39-14.50S 177-48.50E.
   B. 43-30.00S 176-18.00E, 43-30.00S 177-30.00E,
      47-30.00S 177-30.00E, 47-30.00S 175-00.00E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 250920Z JAN 21.
Quote from: NGA
111006Z JAN 21
HYDROPAC 128/21(29,76).
WESTERN SOUTH PACIFIC.
DNC 06, DNC 29.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   0530Z TO 0820Z DAILY 16 THRU 25 JAN
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   57-00S 174-30E, 57-00S 175-54E,
   61-30S 176-00E, 61-30S 174-00E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 250920Z JAN 21.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1348812224983310338

Quote
The first icy Electron of 2021 on the pad for wet dress rehearsal ahead of the #AnotherOneLeavesTheCrust mission for OHB Group.

Launch window
🚀NZT: 20:38 - 20:45 (16 Jan)
🚀UTC: 07:38 - 07:45 (16 Jan)
🚀ET: 02:38 - 02:45 (16 Jan)
🚀PT: 23:38 - 23:45 (15 Jan)

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1349091635909414913

Quote
L-3 days until Another One Leaves The Crust. We're ready to go to space again.

Online gongora

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10205
  • US
  • Liked: 13885
  • Likes Given: 5933
https://twitter.com/AlexNajjarEC/status/1348547034861756422
Quote
I think i have ID-ed the mystery OHB payload! Seems to be a GMS Zhaopin aka Kleo Connect prototype for LEO broadband. Probably secret due to Germany-China relations (see Mynaric for example)

Offline russianhalo117

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8755
  • Liked: 4673
  • Likes Given: 768
https://twitter.com/AlexNajjarEC/status/1348547034861756422
Quote
I think i have ID-ed the mystery OHB payload! Seems to be a GMS Zhaopin aka Kleo Connect prototype for LEO broadband. Probably secret due to Germany-China relations (see Mynaric for example)
It is further firmed up in a newer update on Gunter's page.  GMS-T is a bus name.

Offline Ken the Bin

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2754
  • US Pacific Time Zone
    • @kenthebin@spacey.space
  • Liked: 5141
  • Likes Given: 5543

Offline Ken the Bin

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2754
  • US Pacific Time Zone
    • @kenthebin@spacey.space
  • Liked: 5141
  • Likes Given: 5543
Webcast:

Offline pb2000

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 671
  • Calgary, AB
  • Liked: 759
  • Likes Given: 237
https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1350219390579482624

Quote from: Rocket Lab
Electron will lift off from Pad A at LC-1 today, but very soon we'll have the pick of two pads within the same complex. More pads = more responsive access to space for our customers.
Launches attended: Worldview-4 (Atlas V 401), Iridium NEXT Flight 1 (Falcon 9 FT), PAZ+Starlink (Falcon 9 FT), Arabsat-6A (Falcon Heavy)
Pilgrimaged to: Boca Chica (09/19 & 01/22)

Offline Sam Ho

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 817
  • Liked: 580
  • Likes Given: 71
Quote
T-2 hours until #AnotherOneLeavesTheCrust
https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1350317917183770625

Quote
Electron is standing tall at LC-1 ahead of kerosene fill for today's mission.

Slight adjustment to T-0. We're now targeting:
20:44 NZT
07:44 UTC
02:44 EST
23:44 PST

Webcast will be live from around T-15 mins at http://bit.ly/3spONLL
https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1350257712664231936

Offline Galactic Penguin SST

According to this SFN article the customer might be the Chinese company GMS/Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, which explains the secret deal. The company apparently has relations with German based KLEO Connect which had 2 prototype satellites built and launched by the Chinese in November 2019.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/01/15/rocket-lab-set-to-launch-super-secret-satellite-for-germany-company/
« Last Edit: 01/16/2021 06:53 am by Galactic Penguin SST »
Astronomy & spaceflight geek penguin. In a relationship w/ Space Shuttle Discovery. Current Priority: Chasing the Chinese Spaceflight Wonder Egg & A Certain Chinese Mars Rover

Offline dawei

  • Member
  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 974
  • Liked: 51
  • Likes Given: 235
Standing down for today.


Rocket Lab
@RocketLab
·
3m
We are standing down from today’s mission to review sensor data. Fortunately we have a 10-day window for this mission, so we have plenty of backup opportunities in the days to come. Stay tuned for a new target launch date soon.

https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1350346005795901440?s=20


Offline Galactic Penguin SST

Astronomy & spaceflight geek penguin. In a relationship w/ Space Shuttle Discovery. Current Priority: Chasing the Chinese Spaceflight Wonder Egg & A Certain Chinese Mars Rover

Offline Danirode

  • Member
  • Posts: 29
  • Germany
  • Liked: 14
  • Likes Given: 15
Did he mean "inclinometer"?

Offline PM3

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1481
  • Germany
  • Liked: 1840
  • Likes Given: 1300
"Never, never be afraid of the truth." -- Jim Bridenstine

Offline Satori

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14425
  • Campo do Gerês - Portugal
  • Liked: 1969
  • Likes Given: 1156
« Last Edit: 01/17/2021 01:26 pm by Satori »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1351008366777278473

Quote
After standing down over the weekend Electron is ready to leave the crust! With the weather less than ideal tomorrow, we're targeting January 20th NZT/UTC for lift-off.

Launch window:
🚀19:45 - 21:15 NZDT
🚀06:45 - 08:15 UTC
🚀01:45 - 03:15 EST
🚀22:45 - 00:15 PST (19/20 Jan)
« Last Edit: 01/18/2021 08:19 am by FutureSpaceTourist »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1351635760307343360

Quote
The launch team is on station, Electron is on the pad, and we're preparing to go to space! We're monitoring wind levels at LC-1, but we're proceeding with the count.

Launch window:
🚀19:45 - 21:15 NZDT
🚀06:45 - 08:15 UTC
🚀01:45 - 03:15 EST
🚀22:45 - 00:15 PST (19/20 Jan)

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/peter_j_beck/status/1351655784417935362

Quote
Launch team has arrived at LC-1 for today’s launch.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1351685101415931905

Quote
Ground winds at LC-1 are putting up a bit of a fight today, but should hopefully ease for T-0 so we can leave the crust.

Lift-off is currently targeted for:
19:58 NZDT
06:58 UTC
01:58 EST
22:58 PST

Webcast available from T-15 mins rocketlabusa.com/live-stream

Offline Ken the Bin

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2754
  • US Pacific Time Zone
    • @kenthebin@spacey.space
  • Liked: 5141
  • Likes Given: 5543
Webcast:


Offline Sam Ho

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 817
  • Liked: 580
  • Likes Given: 71
Quote
Kerosene fill operations and vertical checks are complete. We are go for LOx load and Electron is enjoying a brief shower courtesy of today's weather

Quote
Spot Pad B there in the background? The launch mount is installed and we've just got the strongback to go now. One Electron on the pad is nice, but two will be 8)
https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1351737191232282624

Offline Ken the Bin

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2754
  • US Pacific Time Zone
    • @kenthebin@spacey.space
  • Liked: 5141
  • Likes Given: 5543
Updated Press Kit: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/Rocket-Lab-Another-One-Leaves-The-Crust-Press-Kit2.pdf

In a quick check by eye, the only change I noticed was to the Launch Window and Daily Launch Opportunity information on page 2.

Offline Sam Ho

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 817
  • Liked: 580
  • Likes Given: 71
Quote
T-60 minutes until #AnotherOneLeavesTheCrust and OHB Group's satellite will be on its way to orbit. Surface level winds are still high, so it's possible we could enter a hold while we wait for a break in the weather.
https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1351771148728496128

Offline cpushack

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 330
  • Klamath Falls, Oregon
  • Liked: 392
  • Likes Given: 124
Quite windy still, T-12 minutes and holding for a break in the weather

Offline cpushack

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 330
  • Klamath Falls, Oregon
  • Liked: 392
  • Likes Given: 124
LOX tank temperature is rising, can't hold for too much longer before it will exceed launch limits.

Offline cpushack

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 330
  • Klamath Falls, Oregon
  • Liked: 392
  • Likes Given: 124
Countdown has resumed
T-13:30 and counting again

Offline cpushack

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 330
  • Klamath Falls, Oregon
  • Liked: 392
  • Likes Given: 124
Launch Poll all Green, except weather is in violation with 50% chance of violating at T-0
Continuing count

Offline cpushack

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 330
  • Klamath Falls, Oregon
  • Liked: 392
  • Likes Given: 124
Payload deployment will not be shown

Offline jcm

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3622
  • Jonathan McDowell
  • Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
    • Jonathan's Space Report
  • Liked: 1290
  • Likes Given: 775
Launch Poll all Green, except weather is in violation with 50% chance of violating at T-0
Continuing count

I think they said "greater than 50%"?  Which of course could mean 99%  :-)
-----------------------------

Jonathan McDowell
http://planet4589.org

Offline cpushack

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 330
  • Klamath Falls, Oregon
  • Liked: 392
  • Likes Given: 124
Lift Off!

Offline Chris Bergin

Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline jcm

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3622
  • Jonathan McDowell
  • Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
    • Jonathan's Space Report
  • Liked: 1290
  • Likes Given: 775
Well there's a surprise, it actually went - at 0726 UTC
-----------------------------

Jonathan McDowell
http://planet4589.org

Offline cpushack

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 330
  • Klamath Falls, Oregon
  • Liked: 392
  • Likes Given: 124
Stage Sep and Fairing Sep confirmed

Offline cpushack

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 330
  • Klamath Falls, Oregon
  • Liked: 392
  • Likes Given: 124
Battery Hot Swap and Ejection confirmed

Offline cpushack

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 330
  • Klamath Falls, Oregon
  • Liked: 392
  • Likes Given: 124
SECO and 2nd stage separation - Nominal orbit confirmed
Next up is Kick Stage ignition (in 40 minutes)

That concludes the webcast
« Last Edit: 01/20/2021 06:38 am by cpushack »

Offline Chris Bergin

Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941

Offline Skyrocket

  • Extreme Veteran
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2631
  • Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • Liked: 940
  • Likes Given: 172
According to an OHB tweet, the name of the satellite is GMS-T

https://twitter.com/OHB_SE/status/1351798632471781377

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/peter_j_beck/status/1351812198423617536

Quote
Perfect orbit, payload deployed. Hello 2021!
« Last Edit: 01/20/2021 07:43 am by FutureSpaceTourist »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1351814216194244610

Quote
MISSION SUCCESS! Our 18th mission successfully left the crust and @OHB_SE's payload has been deployed to a perfect orbit. What a way to start the year!

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/peter_j_beck/status/1351818065529372673

Quote
Leaving the crust never looked so good.

Offline SMS

  • Regular
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3213
    • Astronauts & their spaceflights
  • Liked: 2164
  • Likes Given: 249
---
SMS ;-).

Offline OneSpeed

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1587
  • Liked: 4928
  • Likes Given: 2077
Here's a comparison with the last flight to a similar insertion altitude, Flight 8 - Look Ma No Hands. The main differences are reduced throttle back for MaxQ, and increased thrust up until the booster terminal guidance phase.

Offline TrevorMonty

This satellite was built and launched within 7 months. Launch contract was signed 6 months ago. Once RL move to RLVs they should be able launch with few months as most production will shift to 2nd stage, fairing and kick stage.

https://spacenews.com/rocket-lab-launches-secretive-communications-satellite-for-ohb/
« Last Edit: 01/21/2021 01:51 am by zubenelgenubi »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941

Online Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39215
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 32735
  • Likes Given: 8180
Here's a grab of the reflection from the back window of the control room of what looks like live views from the rocket (I used 1080 resolution). The left screen might be of the payload. Hard to tell what the right screen is. Better views might be obtained by averaging multiple frames from the video, but I don't have the time to do that.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
Some photos posted by RocketLab

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1353786953334808576

Quote
ICYMI: We kicked this year off with a beautiful sunset mission for @OHB_SE. Launched just 6 months after contract signing, it was a great example of how Electron is helping small sats get to orbit faster and on their terms.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1353880908017725441

Quote
The path to orbit looks pretty good #AnotherOneLeavesTheCrust

Online gongora

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10205
  • US
  • Liked: 13885
  • Likes Given: 5933
ROCKET LAB TO OHB TO THALES ALENIA SPACE TO THE ITU TO… A KA-/KU- BAND LEO SATELLITE CONSTELLATION
Posted by Peter B. de Selding | Jan 26, 2021 | Broadband, Launch Segment, Mobility, News, Satellite Operators

PARIS — A 50-kilogram satellite built by OHB SE of Germany and launched into low Earth orbit Jan. 20 aboard a Rocket Lab Electron vehicle has salvaged — in extremis — a radio frequency reservation by Thales Alenia Space that was filed seven years ago and was set to expire on Jan. 29, according to industry officials and regulatory documents.

These are the same Thales Alenia Space-registered frequencies that the now-scrapped LeoSat constellation project had been slated to use.

Online gongora

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10205
  • US
  • Liked: 13885
  • Likes Given: 5933
[Rocket Lab] Rocket Lab Demonstrates New Orbital Maneuvering Capability with Most Complex Kick Stage Mission Yet

Rocket Lab Demonstrates New Orbital Maneuvering Capability with Most Complex Kick Stage Mission Yet

Launched just six months after contract signing, Rocket Lab’s ‘Another One Leaves The Crust’ mission demonstrated the longest on-orbit burn to date for the Kick Stage’s Curie engine

Long Beach, California. 26 January 2021 – Rocket Lab, the global leader in dedicated small satellite launch, demonstrated the increased maneuvering capability of the Kick Stage during the company’s 18th Electron launch, successfully burning the Curie engine for more than twice the standard mission duration and delivering more than 1,700 km of perigee change.

On January 20, 2021, Rocket Lab successfully launched a communications satellite for European space technology company, OHB Group, deploying the 50 kg class GMS-T satellite to a 1,200 km circular orbit - around 700 km higher than most Electron missions to date. It’s an orbit increasingly in demand for a growing number of constellations, but the unique altitude isn’t a common target orbit for most rideshare missions, leaving satellites facing a long delay to find a ride going to their preferred orbit. Electron eliminates the wait time by delivering a dedicated service to orbit on a timeline that meets our customers’ diverse needs.

After separating from Electron’s second stage into an elliptical transfer orbit, the Kick Stage’s 3D printed Curie engine performed two separate burns; one to raise OHB Group’s satellite to a 1,200 km circular orbit, and a second burn to lower the Kick Stage’s perigee after payload deployment, speeding up the de-orbit process to avoid the Kick Stage becoming long-term orbital debris. Across the two maneuvers, Curie completed more than 267 seconds of total burn time and delivered 1,722 km of perigee change, ascending 982 km and descending 740 km. The complex maneuvers saw Curie burn for more than twice the standard Kick Stage mission profile to low Earth orbit. The extended burn time was made possible thanks to the adaptable design of the Kick Stage which enabled engineers to double the standard number of propellant tanks from four to eight, delivering more on-orbit performance.

“Increasingly we're seeing small satellite operators seeking unique orbits and complex mission profiles on tight timelines,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO. “The Kick Stage delivers an unmatched level of on-orbit maneuverability for our customers, enabling them to get exactly where they need to, and get the most functionality from their spacecraft, all on a tight timeline.”

‘Another One Leaves the Crust’ was launched just six months after the launch contract was signed with OHB Group, shaving more than two years off common wait times small satellites can experience to get on orbit. Beyond providing the launch service, Rocket Lab also built the reaction wheels and star tracker used in OHB’s payload inside the six-month window too.

“By being fully vertically integrated, our team is in control of critical supply chain areas and can quickly scale manufacturing pace to meet customer demand, delivering a vehicle for launch in as little as 30 days,” said Mr. Beck. “As the second most frequently launched U.S. last year, our team has proven they can deliver an integration and launch campaign with unmatched speed and efficiency for the small satellite industry. In this instance the mission delivery time was just six months, but our team, manufacturing facilities, and launch infrastructure are capable of supporting even tighter timelines measured in short weeks.” 

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2836
  • Liked: 1084
  • Likes Given: 33
Does this upper stage having double propellant load (which would nominally require a larger upper stage), mean you can effectively also order a double sized Photon then?

Offline TrevorMonty

Does this upper stage having double propellant load (which would nominally require a larger upper stage), mean you can effectively also order a double sized Photon then?
Photon and its payload have to stay with Electron 300kg to LEO and lighter for higher orbits. Electron 2nd stage is always same regardless of mission.

RL customize Photon kickstage for mission.
Photon can use, mono or bipropellant, either lower ISP pressure fed Curie engine or high performance electric turbo HyperCurie.  HyperCurie allows for thin wall low mass tanks, while pressure fed version need thick wall tanks and lot more pressurization gas.  HyperCurie version has high DV but also more expensive to build. Its case of horses for courses.



Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk


Offline edzieba

  • Virtual Realist
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6104
  • United Kingdom
  • Liked: 9329
  • Likes Given: 39
Does this upper stage having double propellant load (which would nominally require a larger upper stage), mean you can effectively also order a double sized Photon then?
Yes: see the Rocketlab press release immediately above your post.

Online gongora

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10205
  • US
  • Liked: 13885
  • Likes Given: 5933
https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/1354822510802477070
Quote
Update: @OHB_SE will slightly alter orbit of satellite launched Jan 20 for @Thales_Alenia_S's @ITU frequency preservation to avoid @OneWeb constellation at 1,200km.  https://t.co/Pdp7NfhWgt?amp=1

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2836
  • Liked: 1084
  • Likes Given: 33
Does this upper stage having double propellant load (which would nominally require a larger upper stage), mean you can effectively also order a double sized Photon then?
Yes: see the Rocketlab press release immediately above your post.

My reading of that press release didn't immediately imply the double fueled kick stage would be Photon derivative capable, but all things considered, since Photon is mostly mods bolted to the kick stage payload adapter frame, it shouldn't be too hard to convert a double fueled kick stage to Photon spec.

Do we have good pictures to compare the outer mold lines of the single and double fueled kick stage versions though? I was under the impression that the tank fitting was pretty tight in the payload adapter skirt area on the existing kick stage. Did they splice in a barrel segment to the skirt, or change the angle of the cone skirt to lengthen it?

Online Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39215
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 32735
  • Likes Given: 8180
Do we have good pictures to compare the outer mold lines of the single and double fueled kick stage versions though? I was under the impression that the tank fitting was pretty tight in the payload adapter skirt area on the existing kick stage. Did they splice in a barrel segment to the skirt, or change the angle of the cone skirt to lengthen it?

Seems like there is plenty of room to add another four tanks. Add another helium bottle at the bottom, move the box next to the two tanks at left, and add two tanks at left and two tanks at right.
« Last Edit: 01/29/2021 04:22 am by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline edzieba

  • Virtual Realist
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6104
  • United Kingdom
  • Liked: 9329
  • Likes Given: 39
Does this upper stage having double propellant load (which would nominally require a larger upper stage), mean you can effectively also order a double sized Photon then?
Yes: see the Rocketlab press release immediately above your post.

My reading of that press release didn't immediately imply the double fueled kick stage would be Photon derivative capable, but all things considered, since Photon is mostly mods bolted to the kick stage payload adapter frame, it shouldn't be too hard to convert a double fueled kick stage to Photon spec.

Do we have good pictures to compare the outer mold lines of the single and double fueled kick stage versions though? I was under the impression that the tank fitting was pretty tight in the payload adapter skirt area on the existing kick stage. Did they splice in a barrel segment to the skirt, or change the angle of the cone skirt to lengthen it?
While the 'Interplanetary Photon' has a significantly different form-factor, 'LEO Photon' is structurally the same as the Kick Stage, barring the addition of the solar panels. Both are built 'inside' the conical payload adapter, and photos of the Kick Stage show plenty of room within the PA for enlarged or additional tanks (as far as I can tell, there are no public photos of 'LEO Photon' without the baseplate MLI).
The Hypercurie-propelled 'Interplanetary Photon' has a different structure in addition to the much larger tanks and different engine.

Offline Rik ISS-fan

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1520
  • the Netherlands
  • Liked: 618
  • Likes Given: 211
Wouldn't in be structuaraly more efficient to go to larger diameter spherical tanks, or cylindrical (2x) instead of 4x spherical tanks. If they build it themselves the spherical and cylindirical tanks can be made with the same tooling. The tanks could look like the CFRP wrapped pressurization tanks (without the CFRP wrapping).

Offline spacenut

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5181
  • East Alabama
  • Liked: 2587
  • Likes Given: 2895
When are they going to try to recover their booster with a helicopter and parachutes?  It would be cool if a second company can recover and reuse their boosters.  I know it is a small sat launcher, but it is still ahead of Blue Origin.

It would also seem they could add two side boosters and make a "small sat heavy" version, or cluster 7 for a medium launcher without a new booster and have they come apart like flower pedals and recover them with a several helicopters or maybe boats if they can make them sea water proof.   
« Last Edit: 01/29/2021 01:41 pm by spacenut »

Offline trimeta

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1685
  • Kansas City, MO
  • Liked: 2147
  • Likes Given: 57
Wouldn't in be structuaraly more efficient to go to larger diameter spherical tanks, or cylindrical (2x) instead of 4x spherical tanks. If they build it themselves the spherical and cylindirical tanks can be made with the same tooling. The tanks could look like the CFRP wrapped pressurization tanks (without the CFRP wrapping).

I believe the interplanetary Photon does use substantially larger-diameter tanks. So they have those lying around. I guess it was nonetheless easier to just add some additional small tanks, rather than replace the existing small tanks with large ones while keeping the same hardware associated with the "normal" kick stage/LEO Photon.

Edit: Oh, I just remembered, the large-diameter tanks used on interplanetary Photon are not designed for a pressure-fed engine, since interplanetary Photon uses electric pumps. So they couldn't just swap those in with the normal non-Hyper Curie even if they wanted to.

I guess they felt it was easier to use more of the tanks they already had rather than develop a third type of tank for high-energy kick stage/LEO Photon versions. Considering that they're already using four spheres, rather than two cylinders, it seems that ease of use was already more of a factor than absolutely minimizing surface-to-volume. Plus there may be a thickness requirement that would make larger spheres impractical here, and cylinders are sufficiently different from spheres as to require tooling they don't have.
« Last Edit: 01/29/2021 02:59 pm by trimeta »

Offline TrevorMonty

Wouldn't in be structuaraly more efficient to go to larger diameter spherical tanks, or cylindrical (2x) instead of 4x spherical tanks. If they build it themselves the spherical and cylindirical tanks can be made with the same tooling. The tanks could look like the CFRP wrapped pressurization tanks (without the CFRP wrapping).

I believe the interplanetary Photon does use substantially larger-diameter tanks. So they have those lying around. I guess it was nonetheless easier to just add some additional small tanks, rather than replace the existing small tanks with large ones while keeping the same hardware associated with the "normal" kick stage/LEO Photon.

Edit: Oh, I just remembered, the large-diameter tanks used on interplanetary Photon are not designed for a pressure-fed engine, since interplanetary Photon uses electric pumps. So they couldn't just swap those in with the normal non-Hyper Curie even if they wanted to.

I guess they felt it was easier to use more of the tanks they already had rather than develop a third type of tank for high-energy kick stage/LEO Photon versions. Considering that they're already using four spheres, rather than two cylinders, it seems that ease of use was already more of a factor than absolutely minimizing surface-to-volume. Plus there may be a thickness requirement that would make larger spheres impractical here, and cylinders are sufficiently different from spheres as to require tooling they don't have.
Even low DV kick should benefit from pump fed engine, even if it is monopropellant engine. Lighter tanks and less pressurisation gas needed. They may move to this eventually.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
« Last Edit: 01/29/2021 07:52 pm by TrevorMonty »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48176
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81677
  • Likes Given: 36941
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1356438242212548611

Quote
Launch is only part of opening access to space. We’re making it faster & easier for our customers to build spacecraft too. Not only was our last mission launched 6 months from contract signing, we also built the reaction wheels & star tracker in OHB’s sat in the same time frame.

Online gongora

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10205
  • US
  • Liked: 13885
  • Likes Given: 5933
https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/1356577604141277186
Quote
The @OHB_SE -built 50-kg satellite launched Jan 20 has many talents. In addition to confirming Ka-band frequencies for @Thales_Alenia_S via @anfr  -- http://bit.ly/3sXSMPJ -- it's performing a similar function for @OHBSweden via @PTSse, but in S-band. @iTU.

Offline PM3

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1481
  • Germany
  • Liked: 1840
  • Likes Given: 1300
Fun fact: The Electron kick stage of this launch is the 8th ever object to be catalogued in a 90.00° inclination. That's precision. :)

The 7th was 1988-074C, the upper stage of a Scout that launched two U.S. Navy navigation satellites.
"Never, never be afraid of the truth." -- Jim Bridenstine

Offline TrevorMonty

Fun fact: The Electron kick stage of this launch is the 8th ever object to be catalogued in a 90.00° inclination. That's precision. :)

The 7th was 1988-074C, the upper stage of a Scout that launched two U.S. Navy navigation satellites.
Precision orbit injection is ULA's speciality and RL is doing good job of matching it.

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk


Offline Skyrocket

  • Extreme Veteran
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2631
  • Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • Liked: 940
  • Likes Given: 172
I have found an photograph of the GMS-T satellite mounted on the kick stage:

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5018&context=smallsat

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
1