Author Topic: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus  (Read 52559 times)

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« on: 04/08/2019 11:05 pm »
https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1115390484719882240

https://twitter.com/Peter_J_Beck/status/1115401151887724544


https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1115389516259323904

Quote
At a press conference at #35SS, Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck is announcing Photon, a satellite bus based on the Electron rocket’s kick stage. Customers “need only bring their payload or idea,” and Rocket Lab will offer a turnkey service to get it into orbit.
« Last Edit: 04/09/2019 12:12 am by Chris Bergin »

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Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #1 on: 04/08/2019 11:07 pm »
Quote
Rocket Lab is now building customizable satellites
Just add a payload and then launch
By Loren Grush on April 8, 2019 7:00 pm

Small satellite launcher Rocket Lab is getting into the business of making satellites in addition to launching them. The company announced today that it is offering a new service to customers: a standard satellite that can be tailored to anyone’s low Earth orbit business needs. Such satellites are designed to launch to orbit on Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket, creating a streamlined mission to space.

https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2019/4/8/18299685/rocket-lab-photon-satellite-prograom-electron-rocket-kick-stage

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Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #2 on: 04/08/2019 11:10 pm »
https://www.rocketlabusa.com/photon/

Quote
PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS
Available payload mass   Up to 170 kg (orbit dependent). From 37 degrees to SSO
Available payload volume   Electron fairing envelope
Payload power (peak)   100 W to 1 kW
Payload energy/orbit   Up to 300 Whr
System voltage   28 V unregulated; regulated options available
Pointing accuracy   5 deg to 50 arc-sec
Slew rate   Up to 5 deg/s
Pointing stability   Up to TBS arcsec/sec
Orbit knowledge   5 - 10 m
Delta-v capacity   Payload dependent
Payload data interfaces   LVDS, ethernet, CAN, RS422/485
Payload data storage   Up to 1 TB
Telemetry & command frequencies   S-band (space operations)
Telemetry and command data rate   Up to 512 kbps
Payload transmitter   Payload dependent; multiple options available
Orbit type and lifetime   LEO > 5 years

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #3 on: 04/09/2019 12:09 am »
From the press materials:

Rocket Lab Unveils Spacecraft Program

Rocket Lab becomes an integrated spacecraft builder and launch provider, enabling small satellite operators to focus on delivering data and services from space

Space Symposium, Colorado Springs. April 8, 2019 – U.S. small satellite launch company Rocket Lab has announced the next evolution of its mission services; the in-house designed and built Photon™ satellite platform.

 

As the global leader in small satellite launch, Rocket Lab now delivers an integrated spacecraft build and launch service. The end-to-end mission solution enables small satellite customers to focus on delivering their service from orbit and generating revenue, rather than building their own satellite hardware.

 

Rocket Lab Founder and Chief Executive Officer Peter Beck says Photon was designed to be an integrated part of the Rocket Lab mission experience from the very inception of the Electron launch vehicle program.

 

“Small satellite operators want to focus on providing data or services from space, but building satellite hardware is a significant barrier to achieving this. The time, resources and expertise required to build hardware can draw small satellite operators away from their core purpose, delaying their path to orbit and revenue,” he says. “As the turn-key solution for complete small satellite missions, Rocket Lab brings space within easy reach. We enable our customers to focus on their payload and mission – we look after the rest.”

 

With an available payload mass of up to 170 kg*, Photon is designed for a range of Low Earth Orbit missions, including technology demonstrations, risk reduction pathfinders, constellations and hosted payloads. Developed as a configurable platform, Photon is ideal for existing and emerging applications such as communications, remote sensing, and Internet of Things (IoT).

 

Photon is a highly-advanced evolution of the Electron launch vehicle’s Kick Stage, which has been successfully deployed on four orbital Electron missions. Operating a high-powered iteration of the flight-proven 3D printed Curie® propulsion system, Photon can support missions with an orbital life span of up to five years. Photon also includes an S-band communication system, a high-performance attitude control system, and a robust avionics suite.

 

To meet the growing demand for tailored small spacecraft with dependable fast delivery, Rocket Lab has drawn on its proven heritage of rapidly scaling production with Electron launch vehicle program. Manufactured at Rocket Lab’s Huntington Beach, California headquarters, a Photon spacecraft can be launched on Electron in as little as four months from order to orbit.

 

The first operational Photon will be launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Q4 2019, with customer missions in active planning for 2020.
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Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #4 on: 04/09/2019 12:10 am »
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Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #5 on: 04/09/2019 12:10 am »
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Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #6 on: 04/09/2019 12:11 am »
Higher res:
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Offline Lar

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Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #7 on: 04/09/2019 12:28 am »
RL has come quite a ways quite quickly. Their PR bills them as the leading smallsat launch provider. :) That's almost not hyperbolic.

It will be interesting to see what uptake they get.

Also interesting will be the story behind the name choice. (I guess photon goes with electron in a way...)
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Offline vaporcobra

Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #8 on: 04/09/2019 12:45 am »
RL has come quite a ways quite quickly. Their PR bills them as the leading smallsat launch provider. :) That's almost not hyperbolic.

It will be interesting to see what uptake they get.

Also interesting will be the story behind the name choice. (I guess photon goes with electron in a way...)

Photon makes a lot of sense simply because one of the biggest changes relative to the kick stage is the addition of solar cells. Also opens up quite a bit of ceiling for future products with the same theme ;)

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #9 on: 04/09/2019 02:38 am »
Makes lot of sensing, adding extra value to Electron while giving the customer a very cheap satellite bus. Customers were paying for Curie stage anyway why not pay little extra for Photon and get proven satellite bus thrown in the deal.

RL can sweeten deal by some sort of launch insurance in deal if the launch or Photon fails in certain time.

While RL will be trying to sell Electron +Photon package there is no reason to limit it to Electron. For constellations customers will want option of using larger LVs.
 

Offline Mardlamock

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Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #10 on: 04/09/2019 04:37 am »
Why couldn't vector or anyone else do this? Anyone from the satellite sector to weigh in on the long-term usefulness of this?

Definetly interesting to see the sector moving into the PC era...
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Offline Tywin

Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #11 on: 04/09/2019 04:43 am »
Somebody know the difference in capability between the mini bus, "Curie" and "Photon"?
« Last Edit: 04/09/2019 04:44 am by Tywin »
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Offline ArbitraryConstant

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Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #12 on: 04/09/2019 07:11 am »
I'm not in the industry so someone correct me if I'm wrong but this seems like an incredibly cheap way to provide many of the launches RL would want to host anyway. A cheap satellite bus likely grows the market for their payload class and preemptively differentiates RL from other smallsat launchers in case any make it to orbit.

Like if I'm some university or other research institute and I want to put some instrument in space, for Earth observation or astronomy or whatever, I only have to figure out the instrument. Might even work for BEO, look at what India did for their Mars probe.

Or if I'm some aerospace company and I want to put some new part in space to characterize MTBF and so forth, I have a simple cheap bus that handles power and communication.

This seems incredibly cool.

Offline high road

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Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #13 on: 04/09/2019 07:25 am »
Now this is what opening up new markets looks like. Turnkey services to draw in new customers for whom the technical complexity has always been too big a treshold. And if the demand for this service is big enough, cost reduction through standardization of spacecraft will probably offset the higher per kg launch cost of their rocket somewhat.

Exciting times.

Offline Asteroza

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Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #14 on: 04/09/2019 08:41 am »
So, is this sorta like the mobile ESPA ring in terms of potentially also carrying some rideshares to dump, before shuffling on to the orbit of the primary customer/photon itself?

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #15 on: 04/09/2019 10:40 am »
A while back Jon and were discussing using Electron to launch a mini Cygnus. The Photon would be perfect module for mini Cygnus. Only issue with ISS is its high safety requirements which pushes up cost of a cargo vehicle especially small disposable one. Would work better with unmanned commercial robotic station with less strict requirements. Alternatively with space tug that would handle ISS approach.

With payload mass of 170kg, should be good for 100 cargo allowing 70kg for pressure vessel. Would need to enter an airlock to avoid expensive and heavy docking/berthing port.

Offline niwax

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Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #16 on: 04/09/2019 10:52 am »
Ever since they showed of Curie I found it the most interesting thing they showed off. It was the first sign that Rocket Lab really understands the market they're in. In the end it's less about exact payload number or rocker configuration, it's about enabling people to actually use your service and building business cases. This is a market that is just starting up and the first people to truly understand it will shape it and become central to it.

It's hard to find anything to compare that feeling to - maybe Hyundai/Kias approach to electric cars. Even their first little converted city car had a cooled battery pack, DC fast charging, heated seats all around, driver-only climate control and so on. It was lacking the large numbers in battery capacity etc. that the Germans are so fond of, but you immediately got the impression that someone seriously understood what they were doing.
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Offline Asteroza

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Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #17 on: 04/10/2019 12:07 am »
A while back Jon and were discussing using Electron to launch a mini Cygnus. The Photon would be perfect module for mini Cygnus. Only issue with ISS is its high safety requirements which pushes up cost of a cargo vehicle especially small disposable one. Would work better with unmanned commercial robotic station with less strict requirements. Alternatively with space tug that would handle ISS approach.

With payload mass of 170kg, should be good for 100 cargo allowing 70kg for pressure vessel. Would need to enter an airlock to avoid expensive and heavy docking/berthing port.

I wonder how easily/what parts of JonGoff's Bulldog servicing vehicle concept you could graft onto photon to make a tug platform, since Photon has no arms, and may not have proxops suitable RCS currently?

Offline Glorky FCY

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Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #18 on: 04/11/2019 04:46 pm »
How feasible would it be to use Photon as a transfer stage to low lunar orbit for small sats?

Would it possibly even work as a lander with a few landing legs grafted on?
There isn't any info on the RL website discussing the TWR or ISP for this satellite bus.
Looking at Moon Express and Beresheet, a single stage from GEO to the lunar surface is possible given that the payload is small enough.

Perhaps this could be a cheap way for more countries to put hardware and flags on the lunar surface.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Re: Rocket Lab - Photon satellite bus
« Reply #19 on: 04/12/2019 06:26 am »
How feasible would it be to use Photon as a transfer stage to low lunar orbit for small sats?

Not feasible at all, as its a monopropellant engine with a low Isp.
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