https://www.rocketlabusa.com/about-us/updates/rocket-lab-successfully-launches-17th-electron-mission-deploys-sar-satellite-for-synspective/QuoteDetails 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.
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.
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.
Does anyone know the name of the payload?
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)
https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1348422826244521986QuotePayload 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)
111012Z JAN 21HYDROPAC 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.
111006Z JAN 21HYDROPAC 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.
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)
Cleared to fly.
L-3 days until Another One Leaves The Crust. We're ready to go to space again.
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)
https://twitter.com/AlexNajjarEC/status/1348547034861756422QuoteI 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)
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.
T-2 hours until #AnotherOneLeavesTheCrust
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 NZT07:44 UTC02:44 EST 23:44 PSTWebcast will be live from around T-15 mins at http://bit.ly/3spONLL
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)
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)
Launch team has arrived at LC-1 for today’s launch.
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 NZDT06:58 UTC01:58 EST22:58 PSTWebcast available from T-15 mins rocketlabusa.com/live-stream
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
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
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.
Launch Poll all Green, except weather is in violation with 50% chance of violating at T-0Continuing count
Perfect transfer orbit.
Perfect orbit, payload deployed. Hello 2021!
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!
Leaving the crust never looked so good.
Nice lift off yesterday.
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.
The path to orbit looks pretty good #AnotherOneLeavesTheCrust
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?
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
Quote from: Asteroza on 01/27/2021 09:21 pmDoes 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.
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?
Quote from: edzieba on 01/28/2021 01:29 pmQuote from: Asteroza on 01/27/2021 09:21 pmDoes 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?
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).
Quote from: Rik ISS-fan on 01/29/2021 01:28 pmWouldn'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.
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.
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.
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.