Mission Name: Live & Let FlyRocket: ElectronLaunch Date: 20 March 2024Launch Site: Launch Complex 2, Wallops, VirginiaLaunch Time: Approx 02:40 am
Rocket Lab @RocketLab🚀 LAUNCH UPDATE 🚀 The launch date for #NROL123 ‘Live & Let Fly’ for @NatReconOfc has been adjusted one day to the right! We are now targeting no earlier than March 21st for lift-off from @NASAWallops at @Virginia_Space Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
Mission: NROL-123Vehicle: Rocket Lab, ElectronDate: NET March 21, 2024Time: Launch window 2:15-6:30 a.m. EDTLocation: LC-2, Wallops Island, Virginia
NRO @NatReconOfcLAUNCH UPDATE: WELCOME TO LAUNCH WEEK!We’re targeting no earlier than 2:40 a.m. EDT, March 21 to launch #NROL123 on a @RocketLab #Electron rocket from @NASAWallops at @Virginia_Space Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.Follow along this week to get ready for the launch!
https://twitter.com/natreconofc/status/1770741000769589278QuoteSuccessful launch: #NROL123 launched today at 3:25 a.m. EDT on a @RocketLab Electron rocket from @NASAWallops at @Virginia_Space Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.Congratulations to our launch team and partners!Press release: https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/Documents/news/press/2024/NROL-123_Press_Release_FINAL.pdf?ver=aYyuezAjdATfbuTL2jYx7A%3D%3D
Successful launch: #NROL123 launched today at 3:25 a.m. EDT on a @RocketLab Electron rocket from @NASAWallops at @Virginia_Space Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.Congratulations to our launch team and partners!Press release:
181 Satellites Launched By Electron
Current plans anticipate a launch schedule beginning in June 2024 with subsequent launches occurring roughly in September, November and December 2024 and February 2025.
Jonathan McDowell @planet4589Space-Track has now cataloged the NROL-123 Electron launch. There are actually FOUR payloads: "USA 352", MOLA, Aerocube 16A and Aerocube 16B. (Likely the earlier statement of 3 implies that AC-16A/B were deployed attached to each other and then separated?).
Jonathan McDowell @planet4589Looks like USA 352 is the only classified one, the others will not get USA numbers
Jonathan McDowell @planet4589I missed this yesterday, which confirms that "Mola" is indeed the NPS cubesat of that name.Quotehttps://twitter.com/NPS_Monterey/status/1770930023781802291QuoteNaval Postgraduate School @NPS_MontereyCongratulations to NPS’ Space Systems Academic Group, whose Mola CubeSat was one of the payloads launched aboard @NatReconOfc NROL-123 early this morning from @NASAWallops in Virginia. Bravo Zulu!
https://twitter.com/NPS_Monterey/status/1770930023781802291QuoteNaval Postgraduate School @NPS_MontereyCongratulations to NPS’ Space Systems Academic Group, whose Mola CubeSat was one of the payloads launched aboard @NatReconOfc NROL-123 early this morning from @NASAWallops in Virginia. Bravo Zulu!
Naval Postgraduate School @NPS_MontereyCongratulations to NPS’ Space Systems Academic Group, whose Mola CubeSat was one of the payloads launched aboard @NatReconOfc NROL-123 early this morning from @NASAWallops in Virginia. Bravo Zulu!
Mission Name: Beginning Of The SwarmRocket: ElectronLaunch Date: NET 24 April 2024Launch Site: Launch Complex 1Launch Time: TBCPayload: NEONSAT-1 and ACS3Mission OverviewThe ‘Beginning Of The Swarm’ mission is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand during a 14-day launch window that opens on April 24th. Electron will carry two satellites for two separate customers: NEONSAT-1, an Earth observation satellite for the Satellite Technology Research Center (SaTReC) at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3).The primary payload for this mission, NEONSAT-1, is an Earth observation satellite with a high-resolution optical camera designed to monitor for natural disasters along the Korean Peninsula by pairing its images with artificial intelligence. NEONSAT-1 is the first satellite developed under the NEONSAT program by SaTReC and KAIST, Korea’s leading university in science and technology, which developed and operated Korea’s very first satellite KITSAT-1 more than 30 years ago. Other NEONSAT satellites are planned to be launched in 2026 and 2027 to build out the NEONSAT constellation. The secondary payload is NASA's ACS3, a technology demonstration of new materials and deployable structures for solar sail propulsion systems that use sunlight to propel the spacecraft. Much like a sailboat is powered by wind pushing against a sail, solar sails employ the pressure of sunlight for propulsion, eliminating the need for conventional rocket propellant. The mission plans to test the deployment of new composite booms that will unfurl the solar sail to measure approximately 30 feet per side, or about the size of a small apartment in total. Flight data obtained during the demonstration will be used for designing future larger-scale composite solar sail systems for space weather early warning satellites, asteroid and other small body reconnaissance missions, and missions to observe the polar regions of the sun.
U.S. Space Force Awards Rocket Lab Launch Contract for Space Test Program (STP)-S30The mission will be Rocket Lab’s third for the U.S. Space Force, further strengthening Electron’s position as the leading small launch vehicle delivering reliable and responsive launch to the DoD April 08, 2024 06:30 PM Eastern Daylight TimeCOLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”) today announced it has been awarded a $14.49 million task order by the U.S. Space Force (USSF) to launch an Electron mission from Launch Complex 2. The mission, called Space Test Program-30 (STP-S30) falls under the Space Systems Command (SSC) Assured Access to Space organization and is part of Orbital Services Program-4 (OSP-4).The dedicated Electron launch is scheduled to take place within 24 months from contract award and will lift off from Launch Complex 2, a dedicated pad for the Electron rocket at Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. STP-S30 is a complex mission that will deliver research experiments and technology demonstrations to orbit for the DoD and contribute to future space systems development. The projected primary payload, DISKSat, will demonstrate sustained very low earth orbit (VLEO) flight and test a unique, 1-meter diameter, disk-shaped satellite bus that is designed to increase on-orbit persistence."Flexible, responsive, and reliable launch is critical to ensuring resilient space capabilities for the nation and we’re proud to deliver it to the Space Force once again with Electron,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “After more than 40 successful launches from pads spanning both hemispheres, we’ve delivered time and time again for DoD, national security, and commercial space users alike, cementing Electron’s position as the leading small launch solution globally. We’re excited to demonstrate this unique combination of mature proven execution, speed, and agility for STP-S30.”Rocket Lab has a long track record of delivering mission success for the USSF on Electron, including the successful launch of an Air Force Research Laboratory-sponsored demonstration satellite called Monolith in 2021, and the successful launch of the STP-27RD mission research and development satellites for the DoD in 2019. Rocket Lab is also working closely with the USSF for the development of the Company’s new medium-lift vehicle Neutron through a $24.35 million contract with SSC to support development of Neutron's upper stage.
Quote from: StraumliBlight on 04/09/2024 12:28 amU.S. Space Force Awards Rocket Lab Launch Contract for Space Test Program (STP)-S30: • Rocket Lab awarded $14.49 million task order by USSF. • Launch is scheduled to take place within 24 months from contract award and will lift off from Launch Complex 2. • Primary payload, DISKSat, will demonstrate sustained very low earth orbit (VLEO) flight and test a unique, 1-meter diameter, disk-shaped satellite bus that is designed to increase on-orbit persistence.https://twitter.com/USSF_SSC/status/1777491399769829418QuoteSpace Systems Command@USSF_SSCThe U.S. Space Force’s Small Launch and Targets Division today awarded a $14.49 million task order to Rocket Lab USA, Inc. for the Space Test Program (STP)-S30 launch service. Press Article Link: https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=51Pgc9-d-DY%3d&portalid=3
U.S. Space Force Awards Rocket Lab Launch Contract for Space Test Program (STP)-S30: • Rocket Lab awarded $14.49 million task order by USSF. • Launch is scheduled to take place within 24 months from contract award and will lift off from Launch Complex 2. • Primary payload, DISKSat, will demonstrate sustained very low earth orbit (VLEO) flight and test a unique, 1-meter diameter, disk-shaped satellite bus that is designed to increase on-orbit persistence.
Space Systems Command@USSF_SSCThe U.S. Space Force’s Small Launch and Targets Division today awarded a $14.49 million task order to Rocket Lab USA, Inc. for the Space Test Program (STP)-S30 launch service.
Mission Name: Beginning Of The SwarmRocket: ElectronLaunch Date: NET 24 April 2024Launch Site: Launch Complex 1Launch Time: Opens 21:30 UTCPayload: NEONSAT-1 and ACS3
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”) today announced that it has been selected for a $32M U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC) contract to deliver the VICTUS HAZE Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission. The mission will see Rocket Lab design, build, launch, and operate a rendezvous proximity operation (RPO) capable spacecraft. The mission was contracted under Rocket Lab National Security, a wholly owned subsidiary that serves the U.S. and its allies with responsive and reliable launch services, spacecraft manufacturing, and space systems capabilities.SSC’s Space Safari’s VICTUS HAZE mission will be an exercise of a realistic threat-response scenario and on-orbit space domain awareness (SDA) demonstration. Rocket Lab and a second performer, True Anomaly, will both demonstrate the ability to build rendezvous and proximity operation (RPO) capable space vehicles and command and control centers. The mission is targeted for launch in 2025...
Mission Name: Beginning Of The SwarmRocket: ElectronLaunch Date: NET 24 April 2024Launch Site: Launch Complex 1Launch Time: Opens 22:00 UTCPayload: NEONSAT-1 and ACS3
New Zealand Onenui – 42, 191, 180
NASA Marshall @NASA_MarshallLet's set sail ⛵@NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is targeting an April 23 launch aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from New Zealand.The rocket will deploy the mission’s CubeSat above Earth to test the performance of the system.MORE >> https://go.nasa.gov/3xJMLNx
A NASA mission testing a new way of navigating our solar system is ready to hoist its sail into space – not to catch the wind, but the propulsive power of sunlight. The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is targeting launch on Tuesday, April 23 (Wednesday, April 24 in New Zealand) aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula of New Zealand.
NET April 23/24 Electron • ‘Beginning Of The Swarm’Launch time: Window 10:00-11:00 a.m. NZST April 24 (6:00-7:00 p.m. EDT, 2200-2300 UTC on April 23)Launch site: Pad B, Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Rocket Lab @RocketLabBeautiful sunrise pics of Electron vertical and ready on the pad at LC-1 for today's lift-off for @kaistpr and @NASA.Beginning Of The Swarm (B.T.S.) scheduled for launch:⏰Weds 24 NZT | 10:15 ⏰Tue 23 UTC | 22:15 ⏰Tue 23 EDT | 18:15⏰Tues 23 PDT | 15:15
