From the pad as @RocketLab debuts #Electron in the U.S. A well deserved victory after so much delay. my @GoPro #GoProHERO11 crushed it!
Virginia is indeed for launch lovers 📸 @TheFavoritist 📸 @TrevorMahlmann
Today we successfully expanded our launch footprint with our first mission from U.S. soil. Thank you to the teams at @NASA_Wallops, @Virginia_Space, @FAANews and @hawkeye360 for helping to make that happen. We're just getting started 🚀
After a successful launch, @hawkeye360 is happy to report that we have established initial communications with all three satellites in the #Cluster6 trio. Find out more here.
HAWKEYE 360 SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES CLUSTER 6 SATELLITES ABOARD INAUGURAL ROCKET LAB ELECTRON FLIGHT FROM VIRGINIAJanuary 24, 2023/in Featured 1, Press ReleaseThe Wallops Island, Virginia launch boosts revisit rates for global high-demand regionsHerndon, Virginia (January 24, 2022) — HawkEye 360 Inc., the world’s leading commercial provider of space-based radio frequency (RF) data and analytics, announced today that its Cluster 6 next-generation satellites have successfully deployed to orbit aboard the inaugural Rocket Lab Electron flight from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. Communication with the satellites has been established by the company’s operations team. This is the first of three dedicated Rocket Lab USA Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) flights contracted by HawkEye 360.“We are happy to report that our Cluster 6 next-generation satellites have reached orbit and we look forward to ramping up operations in the weeks ahead and fully integrating them into our constellation,” said HawkEye 360 CEO, John Serafini. “We are grateful for our valued mission partners, Rocket Lab and the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, who worked alongside our fantastic HawkEye 360 team to make this inaugural Virginia launch a success.”“We’re immensely proud to have delivered mission success for HawkEye 360,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “With Launch Complex 2, we set out to create a new path to orbit from U.S. soil after more than 30 Electron launches from New Zealand, and what could be more fitting for the first Virginia mission than launching a Virginia-built satellite? We couldn’t ask for better mission partners in HawkEye 360 and Virginia Space, and we look forward to many more missions together.”“It is an honor for Virginia Space to partner with HawkEye 360, a Virginia-based company, and launch such an important payload into orbit from our Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport,” said Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority CEO and Executive Director Roosevelt “Ted” Mercer, Jr. “Collaboration across different sectors of the space industry is key to ensure access to space for our nation. This is a historic moment for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and we look forward to future launches with Hawkeye 360 and Rocket Lab.”The Cluster 6 trio of satellites will be the first in the HawkEye constellation to enter an inclined orbit, boosting revisit rates over the mid-latitude regions of the globe. Once Cluster 6 achieves initial operating capability, HawkEye 360 will be able to collect RF data as frequently as once per hour anywhere on Earth, enabling the company to offer the most timely and actionable RF data and data analytics available on the market.This successful launch expands HawkEye 360’s constellation to 18 satellites with expanded and improved data collection in the 15 -18 GHz range, exposing new and meaningful insights for customers. These second-generation Cluster 6 satellites hold two payloads for system redundancy and are each equipped to collect VHF, UHF, X-Band, L-Band, S-Band, X-Band, and GPS Interference signals.
100% mission success, huge congratulations to the Rocket Lab team, @NASA_Wallops @Virginia_Space @FAANews @hawkeye360. Looks like everything works in the northern hemisphere also.
Electron has settled into a new home in Virginia just fine. No matter which of our three pads Electron lifts off from, the view is always stunning. #VirginiaIsForLaunchLovers
This morning's Space Force tracking shows the three Hawk 6 satellites and the Electron kick stage in a 548 x 552 km x 40.5 deg orbit, confirming successful launch.
The second stage is in a 325 x 563 km orbit; this is higher perigee than typical for Electron so it won't reenter as quickly as the Electron stage 2s normally do
CelesTrak has GP data for 5 objects from the launch (2023-011) of 3 Hawkeye 360 satellites atop an Electron rocket from Wallops Island on Jan 24 at 2300 UTC: spaceflightnow.com/2023/01/24/ele…. Latest data can be found at: https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/table.php?INTDES=2023-011
At ignition, something squirted up beside the rocket before being sucked back down by plume entrainment.It gets almost as high as the payload fairing.What is this?Is it splashing water that was sitting in the flame trench?Has this been observed before?Is it just the small scale of Electron that makes this so prominent?
Electron lifting off from LC-2 for the first time earlier this week. Was a fun challenge incorporating the small water tower the size of a large water tower into the frame at @NASA_Wallops 🇺🇸🚀
[email protected]’s Electron lifting off from LC-2, captured from 86ft up, mounted to the water tower at @NASA_Wallops. Big thx to the folks at @Virginia_Space for all the help ensuring capture of this historic mission. None of these shots would be possible without their assistance🔥🚀
A week on from our first U.S. launch and all three @hawkeye360 sats are happily settled in space. Not only did we provide the ride on Electron, but our separation systems also released the payloads on orbit - maintaining our 100% mission success record for our sep systems.
