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#700
by
c4fusion
on 22 Nov, 2016 22:33
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They've also changed the booking pages. Now they offer 6U and 12U slots.
They've also put up videos about the VLM and Instant Eyes programs
Additionally they have added an option for an elliptical orbit with perigee at 180km and apogee at 350+ km with much higher mass to orbit (in neighborhood of 220 kg). Of course, I am not sure how useful an orbit with such a low perigee is...
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#701
by
Davidthefat
on 22 Nov, 2016 23:36
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#702
by
CameronD
on 23 Nov, 2016 01:26
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Looks like test launch is moved to early 2017.
Makes sense.. The biggest beef with the locals would be:
Ms Moreau-Hammond said further details about road closures would be available in the coming weeks but there would be no closures this year.
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#703
by
savuporo
on 23 Nov, 2016 04:17
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Rocket Lab media spokeswoman Catherine Moreau-Hammond said the team had worked tirelessly this year, and with the holidays fast approaching they felt it best to allow everyone a decent break.
Sounds like a good company to work for.
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#704
by
ringsider
on 23 Nov, 2016 05:52
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Rocket Lab media spokeswoman Catherine Moreau-Hammond said the team had worked tirelessly this year, and with the holidays fast approaching they felt it best to allow everyone a decent break.
Sounds like a good company to work for.
As I said some months ago:-
They clearly want to launch in the antipodean Summer time - circa Dec-March, 3-4-5 months from now - but honestly I doubt they will make that, because all the usual human stuff like school summer holidays in December/Jan in Aus/NZ and just because they are not close enough to ready I think.The reason this was obvious is that the December holiday is not just like the normal few days for Christmas; in Aus/NZ it is like the long school summer holiday in the Northern hemisphere. Kids are off school for 6 weeks from mid-December to end of January, with new school year starting 1 February.
So IMHO, if they take off that period, there is no chance they will be launching in February, just because people need to get back up to speed after a long break, and probably not even March for similar reasons. Add in all the complexities of a first launch - all the things this company has never done before, despite their rapid progress in R&D, all the approvals and regulatory hurdles, systems integration, the entire range procedure.... with the best possible will it's easy to see slippage of 3+ months. And then we are into antipodean Autumn and Winter.
I still think we will see a flight around September 2017.
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#705
by
ringsider
on 23 Nov, 2016 06:21
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#706
by
TrevorMonty
on 23 Nov, 2016 08:14
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Rocket Lab media spokeswoman Catherine Moreau-Hammond said the team had worked tirelessly this year, and with the holidays fast approaching they felt it best to allow everyone a decent break.
Sounds like a good company to work for.
As I said some months ago:-
They clearly want to launch in the antipodean Summer time - circa Dec-March, 3-4-5 months from now - but honestly I doubt they will make that, because all the usual human stuff like school summer holidays in December/Jan in Aus/NZ and just because they are not close enough to ready I think.
The reason this was obvious is that the December holiday is not just like the normal few days for Christmas; in Aus/NZ it is like the long school summer holiday in the Northern hemisphere. Kids are off school for 6 weeks from mid-December to end of January, with new school year starting 1 February.
So IMHO, if they take off that period, there is no chance they will be launching in February, just because people need to get back up to speed after a long break, and probably not even March for similar reasons. Add in all the complexities of a first launch - all the things this company has never done before, despite their rapid progress in R&D, all the approvals and regulatory hurdles, systems integration, the entire range procedure.... with the best possible will it's easy to see slippage of 3+ months. And then we are into antipodean Autumn and Winter.
I still think we will see a flight around September 2017.
More likely Feb-Mar. Given how important the first launches are they may not allow any leave in Feb-Apr time frame.
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#707
by
Proponent
on 23 Nov, 2016 11:32
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Additionally they have added an option for an elliptical orbit with perigee at 180km and apogee at 350+ km with much higher mass to orbit (in neighborhood of 220 kg). Of course, I am not sure how useful an orbit with such a low perigee is...
My guess is that a payload to such an orbit would likely have its own apogee kick motor.
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#708
by
imprezive
on 23 Nov, 2016 20:33
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#709
by
ringsider
on 23 Nov, 2016 21:23
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Did anybody else notice the dimensions on the vehicle have changed?
Initial: 18m x 1m on 2014 website (simple cyclinder = 56m3 vol)
Was: 16m x 1.2m on old website (simple cyclindrr = 60m3 vol)
Now: 17m x 1.2m on new one (simple cylinder = 64m3 vol)
Assuming the nosecone has not changed, that is a big move, about 4 cubic meters of volume, presumably extra tankage for more fuel.
Also the price point isn't US$4.9M. Add up all the cubesats in a payload and it is more like US$6.5M.
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#710
by
msat
on 24 Nov, 2016 12:03
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If you go the ride share route on the Electron, it starts at $70k a cubesat according to the website.
How does this work out? 5,000,000/70,000 = ~71
Since I doubt they'll be able to stuff 70 cubesats in the fairing, that cost seems like an arbitrary figure for a ride share on a rocket with probably one larger payload. How often would such a launch option manifest itself?
According to the booking page on their website they can fit 24 3U cubesats and 8 1U cubesats in a standard fairing.
I should have done a little research before deciding to mash away at the keyboard. I just looked at the fairing pics and got the impression that it was too small to house that many cubesats. Thanks for the correction!
Unrelated to the above, I'd love to know about a trade study RocketLab may have performed WRT tank pressurization levels and structural/etc weight costs to reduce turbopump power and battery requirements.
Also curious why they haven't gone with something along the lines of strap on booster-like separable battery packs consisting of a sizable amount of S1's total battery capacity. Hell, they could even potentially recover them.
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#711
by
orulz
on 25 Nov, 2016 01:09
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Probably becausein order to get enough current in order to drive the turbopumps, they have to discharge all the batteries simultaneously. Any system that used batteries sequentially would have a lower sustained maximum current.
Sent from my LGL44VL using Tapatalk
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#712
by
msat
on 25 Nov, 2016 03:38
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Ah, that makes sense. I suppose the LV and payloads they're likely to carry wont require much throttling anyway.
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#713
by
oiorionsbelt
on 26 Nov, 2016 23:16
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#714
by
CameronD
on 27 Nov, 2016 21:05
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#715
by
Kryten
on 12 Dec, 2016 15:47
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http://rocketlab.co.nz/latest/rocket-lab-completes-final-major-technical-milestone-before-first-test-launches/Rocket Lab today announced the flight qualification and acceptance of the first stage booster of the Electron launch vehicle.
All primary components of the stage – including engines, vehicle structures, avionics and software systems - were designed, developed and tested in-house at Rocket Lab.
“Rocket Lab has had a hugely successful year with qualification of all major vehicle systems, completion of Launch Complex 1 and considerable growth of our team and customer base,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab CEO.
“We will continue to test the vehicle extensively in the lead-up to commercial operations and are looking forward to beginning the test flight program. Our focus with the Electron has been to develop a reliable launch vehicle that can be manufactured in high volumes – our ultimate goal is to make space accessible by providing an unprecedented frequency of launch opportunities.”
Rocket Lab plans to begin full vehicle testing in early 2017 once international launch licensing is complete. The tests will occur from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, located on the Mahia Peninsula of New Zealand.
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#716
by
Prober
on 12 Dec, 2016 16:03
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#717
by
orulz
on 12 Dec, 2016 16:30
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Awesome news. Really rooting for these Kiwis to pull it off. This is one of the most exciting things going on in the space launch industry right now. They have the expertise, the funding, and now the hardware to get the job done. Congrats to them.
I wonder if the stage tests they have been conducting are using battery or mains power? Batteries, I hope! It wouldn't be a full systems test if they didn't use batteries.
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#718
by
TrevorMonty
on 12 Dec, 2016 20:02
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Good news. Waiting launch license, as usual it is paper work that always takes longest.
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#719
by
ringsider
on 12 Dec, 2016 20:28
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Synchronized gimballing at 0:56 - :1:00.