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Electron : F39 NASA Starling - Baby Come Back : LC-1B : 18 July 2023 (01:27 UTC)
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 09 May, 2023 20:33
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Starling (4x 6U, NASA)
LEO 3 (SFL/Telesat)
Lemur (2x 3U, Spire)
https://investors.rocketlabusa.com/news/news-details/2023/Rocket-Lab-to-Launch-Small-Satellite-Swarm-for-NASA/default.aspxRocket Lab to Launch Small Satellite Swarm for NASA
05/09/2023
Four Starling satellites have been added to Electron’s 2023 manifest.
LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it has signed a deal to launch NASA’s Starling mission, a multi-CubeSat mission to test and demonstrate autonomous swarm technologies, as well as automated space traffic management for groups of spacecraft in low-Earth orbit.
The four Starling small satellites have been manifested on an Electron commercial rideshare mission scheduled for lift-off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand in Q3 this year. Rocket Lab will deliver the satellites to space within three months of the contract signing.
The Starling mission is designed to test technologies to enable future “swarm” missions. Spacecraft swarms refer to multiple spacecraft autonomously coordinating their activities to achieve certain goals. Starling will explore technologies for in-space network communications, onboard relative navigation between spacecraft, autonomous maneuver planning and execution, and distributed science autonomy.
“Electron has been delivering rapid and reliable access to orbit for NASA since 2018 and we’re delighted to continue that strong heritage with the Starling mission,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “Starling has the potential to revolutionize the way science is done in orbit and we’re immensely proud to make that possible.”
NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate manages the Starling project. The program is based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Starling joins a growing list of NASA missions launched by Rocket Lab since 2018, including the ELaNa-19 educational CubeSat program, the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon, and two dedicated Electron launches for the NASA TROPICS mission.
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#1
by
XRZ.YZ
on 09 May, 2023 23:03
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Rocket Lab was selected by NASA to launch the Starling mission on an expedited timeline due to long delays and uncertainty with the mission’s original launch provider.
Quote from financial report
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#2
by
Asteroza
on 09 May, 2023 23:30
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Rocket Lab was selected by NASA to launch the Starling mission on an expedited timeline due to long delays and uncertainty with the mission’s original launch provider.
Quote from financial report
The original launch provider appears to be Firefly?
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#3
by
Robotbeat
on 09 May, 2023 23:44
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#4
by
trimeta
on 10 May, 2023 00:12
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#5
by
Robotbeat
on 10 May, 2023 00:23
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Rocket Lab was selected by NASA to launch the Starling mission on an expedited timeline due to long delays and uncertainty with the mission’s original launch provider.
Quote from financial report
The original launch provider appears to be Firefly?
Yes. Kind of annoying not to mention it. https://web.archive.org/web/20220318070147/https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/small_spacecraft/starling/
The announcement that Rocket Lab would launch the second two TROPICS missions didn't mention "we got this contract because Astra screwed up" either. I think it's just common courtesy to not name names. As you noted, it's not hard to find for those interested (there's also this news article from when Starling was initially announced, if you don't want to use a Wayback page).
Oh I know, there are also legal issues potentially with it. Still kind of annoying that you have to click through to another news article or web archive to figure it out.
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#6
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 31 May, 2023 20:36
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https://investors.rocketlabusa.com/news/news-details/2023/Space-Flight-Laboratory-Selects-Rocket-Lab-to-Launch-Telesat-Broadband-Satellite/default.aspxSpace Flight Laboratory Selects Rocket Lab to Launch Telesat Broadband Satellite
05/31/2023
LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it has signed a deal to launch the LEO 3 satellite for global satellite operator Telesat (Nasdaq and TSX: TSAT) on an Electron mission scheduled for Q3, 2023. The satellite has been built and manifested to Electron by mission management provider and satellite developer Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) of Toronto.
The LEO 3 demonstration satellite will provide continuity for customer and ecosystem vendor testing campaigns following the decommissioning of Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite. Once deployed to orbit, LEO 3 will operate under an existing ITU network filing for Telesat Lightspeed, the company’s enterprise-class LEO constellation.
The Electron mission that will carry the LEO 3 satellite is scheduled for lift-off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand no earlier than Q3 2023. To meet Telesat’s program requirements, SFL has selected Rocket Lab to deliver the satellite to space on an accelerated timeline within four months of contract signing.
The launch of LEO 3 for Telesat and SFL follows the successful deployment of three satellites built by SFL for radio frequency data analytics company HawkEye 360, which launched on the first Electron mission of the year in January 2023.
Rocket Lab Senior Director of Global Launch Services Brian Rogers said: “As the only U.S. small rocket to successfully deliver satellites to orbit this year, Electron remains the undisputed small launch leader for reliable and regular satellite delivery to orbit. Whether it’s a dedicated or rideshare mission, our customers know they can rely on Electron to get their satellites delivered.”
“Electron was selected to launch LEO 3 given Rocket Lab’s ability to meet the mission’s special orbital requirements and the desire for rapid turnaround," says Dr. Robert Zee, Director, SFL. "As a complete mission provider, we are pleased to have been able to identify and secure this launch to meet Telesat's commercial needs."
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#7
by
Conexion Espacial
on 31 May, 2023 20:47
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Telesat selects Space Flight Laboratory to manufacture LEO 3 demonstration satellite
OTTAWA AND TORONTO, CANADA – May 30, 2023 –Telesat (NASDAQ and TSX: TSAT), one of the world’s largest and most innovative satellite operators, today announced a contract award to Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) of Toronto, Ontario to manufacture a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) demonstration satellite for Telesat.
The demonstration satellite, named LEO 3, will provide continuity for customer and ecosystem vendor testing campaigns following the decommissioning of Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite. Once successfully launched and on-station, LEO 3 will operate under an existing ITU network filing for Telesat Lightspeed, the company’s enterprise-class LEO constellation.
“We’re excited to partner with SFL, who has as a proven track record for building high-performing satellite platforms – on time and within budget,” stated Dave Wendling, Telesat’s Chief Technical Officer. “LEO 3 will serve an important role for low-latency customer applications testing, and for supporting LEO antenna and modem development efforts in advance of our Telesat Lightspeed satellite deployment.”
SFL is developing LEO 3 on its popular DEFIANT microsatellite platform, a cost-effective design that supports demanding missions without sacrificing performance. The completed LEO 3 will be a compact microsatellite measuring 30x30x45 cm with a mass of 30 kg. More than a dozen DEFIANT satellites developed for SFL clients are now in orbit serving applications ranging from maritime ship tracking to radio frequency signal mapping.
“DEFIANT is a scalable platform with the power capabilities and versatility to support a variety of mission objectives, yet it is compact enough to keep launch costs at a manageable level for commercial programs,” said SFL Director Dr. Robert E. Zee. “SFL is pleased that our microspace technology can be the enabler for Telesat to achieve its demonstration goals for high bandwidth operations in LEO.”
LEO 3 is nearing completion at SFL following a relatively aggressive development schedule. SFL has integrated the communications payload with the LEO 3 bus and successfully completed vibration and electromagnetic compatibility testing of the spacecraft. Additional tests are ongoing.
SFL’s 25-year heritage includes 65 operational successes, with an additional 27 under development or awaiting launch. Missions support a wide range of applications related to Earth observation, atmospheric monitoring, ship tracking, communication, radio frequency (RF) geolocation, technology demonstration, space astronomy, solar physics, space plasma, and other scientific research.
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#8
by
GewoonLukas_
on 01 Jun, 2023 06:50
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Possible rideshare? Possibly with NASA Starling? (Also Q3)
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#9
by
TrevorMonty
on 01 Jun, 2023 08:19
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Possible rideshare? Possibly with NASA Starling? (Also Q3)
Assuming the orbits are compatible.
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#10
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 22 Jun, 2023 20:37
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https://investors.rocketlabusa.com/news/news-details/2023/Rocket-Lab-to-Launch-Multiple-Satellites-as-Part-of-Upcoming-Recovery-Mission/default.aspxRocket Lab to Launch Multiple Satellites as Part of Upcoming Recovery Mission
06/22/2023
The mission is the second marine recovery attempt of Electron this year after the success of the 35th mission.
LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced its next Electron mission will deploy seven satellites to space and include an attempt to recover the rocket’s booster after launch.
The ‘Baby Come Back’ mission, Rocket Lab’s 39th Electron launch, is scheduled to deploy from Pad A at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand during a launch window that opens July 14, 2023 UTC.
Rocket Lab is also planning to conduct a marine recovery of Electron’s first stage as part of this mission. Rocket Lab’s recovery team will retrieve Electron using a customized vessel and transport the stage back to Rocket Lab’s production complex for analysis. Data from this recovered stage will inform Rocket Lab’s ongoing recovery and reuse program.
The ‘Baby Come Back’ mission is a rideshare mission and will carry satellites for multiple customers.
“This mission demonstrates Rocket Lab’s ability to provide responsive space capabilities on accelerated timelines by making access to space possible for customers when they run into roadblocks,” said Rocket Lab Founder & CEO Peter Beck. “Electron is the world’s most reliable small launch vehicle and is demonstrating it can deliver customer’s payloads on their schedule.”
Payloads aboard the ‘Baby Come Back’ mission include:
NASA: NASA’s Starling mission is a four CubeSat mission designed to test technologies to enable future “swarm” missions. Spacecraft swarms refer to multiple spacecraft autonomously coordinating their activities to achieve certain goals. Starling will demonstrate technologies for in-space network communications, onboard relative navigation between spacecraft, autonomous maneuver planning and execution, and distributed science autonomy - an experiment for small spacecraft to autonomously react to observations, paving the way for future science missions.
Space Flight Laboratory (SFL): Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) selected Rocket Lab to launch Telesat’s LEO 3 demonstration satellite that will provide continuity for customer and ecosystem vendor testing campaigns following the decommissioning of Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite.
Spire Global: Spire will launch two 3U satellites carrying Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) payloads to replenish its fully deployed constellation of more than 100 multipurpose satellites. Spire’s satellites observe the Earth in real time using radio frequency technology. The data acquired by Spire’s GNSS-RO payloads provide global weather intelligence that can be assimilated into weather models to improve the accuracy of forecasts. Spire is the largest producer of GNSS-RO weather data, collecting over 20,000 RO profiles a day.
Image caption:
NASA’s Starling mission will test new technologies for autonomous swarm navigation on four CubeSats in low-Earth orbit. Credits: Blue Canyon Technologies/NASA
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#11
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 22 Jun, 2023 20:39
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https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1671981030654504960Rocket Lab’s next Electron mission, called “Baby Come Back”, will include an attempt to recover the rocket’s booster after delivering satellites to orbit for multiple customers. The launch window will open July 14, 2023, UTC from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.
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#12
by
Fmedici
on 22 Jun, 2023 21:03
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This means that Pad 1A will become operative again after a year long pause
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#13
by
Ken the Bin
on 23 Jun, 2023 04:12
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Rocket Lab has updated
https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/next-mission/
Mission Name: Baby Come Back
Rocket: Electron
Electron Name: Baby Come Back
Launch Window: NET 14 July 2023
Launch Time: NET 23:30 UTC
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, Pad A
Mission Overview
Rocket Lab's 39th Electron mission, called "Baby Come Back" will deploy seven satellites to space and include an attempt to recover the rocket's first stage after it splashes down in the ocean.
'Baby Come Back' will launch from Pad A and Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand during a launch window that opens July 14, 2023, UTC.
The ‘Baby Come Back’ mission is a rideshare mission and will carry satellites for multiple customers, including:
NASA: NASA’s Starling mission is a four CubeSat mission designed to test technologies to enable future “swarm” missions. Spacecraft swarms refer to multiple spacecraft autonomously coordinating their activities to achieve certain goals. Starling will demonstrate technologies for in-space network communications, onboard relative navigation between spacecraft, autonomous maneuver planning, and execution, and distributed spacecraft autonomy - an experiment for small spacecraft to autonomously react to observations, paving the way for future science missions.
Space Flight Laboratory (SFL): Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) selected Rocket Lab to launch Telesat’s LEO 3 demonstration satellite that will provide continuity for customer and ecosystem vendor testing campaigns following the decommissioning of Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite.
Spire Global: Spire will launch two 3U satellites carrying Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) payloads to replenish its fully deployed constellation of more than 100 multipurpose satellites. Spire’s satellites observe the Earth in real time using radio frequency technology. The data acquired by Spire’s GNSS-RO payloads provide global weather intelligence that can be assimilated into weather models to improve the accuracy of forecasts. Spire is the largest producer of GNSS-RO weather data, collecting over 20,000 RO profiles a day.
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#14
by
Ken the Bin
on 28 Jun, 2023 16:16
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I don't know when it was changed, but the Rocket Lab Next Mission page now says Pad B instead of Pad A.
https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/next-mission/Mission Name: Baby Come Back
Rocket: Electron
Electron Name: Baby Come Back
Launch Window: NET 14 July 2023
Launch Time: NET 23:30 UTC
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, Pad B
'Baby Come Back' will launch from Pad B and Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand during a launch window that opens July 14, 2023, UTC.
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#15
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 29 Jun, 2023 23:39
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https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1674533392619274240 Payload integration is underway for the #BabyComeBack mission launching from LC-1 no earlier than July 14th UTC!
All but one of the small sats on this mission will be housed in our carbon composite Maxwell dispensers for a safe journey to orbit.
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#16
by
trimeta
on 04 Jul, 2023 01:48
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#17
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 05 Jul, 2023 20:36
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https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1676691150147850240 We're looking forward to views like this again next week! Electron has a few upgrades for the #BabyComeBack mission, incl. new waterproofing features to protect key components during ocean splashdown. It's the next major step in our program to make Electron a reusable rocket 🚀
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#18
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 05 Jul, 2023 22:28
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https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/ames/nasa-s-starling-prepares-to-launch-small-spacecraft-swarm-to-orbitJul 5, 2023
NASA’s Starling Prepares to Launch Small Spacecraft Swarm to Orbit
A quartet of six-unit (6U) CubeSats will show off their moves in a sort of orbital line dance when NASA’s Starling mission tests critical swarm technologies in space. The spacecraft are planned to launch no earlier than July 14 aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 facility in Mahia, New Zealand.
Future autonomous spacecraft swarms could change the way NASA conducts science and exploration missions. Spacecraft swarms operating at great distances from the Earth must carry out functions on their own, due to the time delay in communicating with ground stations and potential communications disruptions. Autonomy will ensure that a mission continues to perform even when communications with spacecraft are temporarily disrupted. Additionally, autonomy allows spacecraft swarms to change behavior to observe unexpected or infrequent phenomena – referred to by researchers as “opportunistic science.”
Once positioned about 355 miles above Earth and spaced about 40 miles apart, Starling’s spacecraft will demonstrate the ability to autonomously fly together while keeping track of each other’s relative positions and trajectories. They also will demonstrate the ability to plan and execute activities as a group, without guidance from mission controllers, including responding to new information from onboard sensors. Starling’s spacecraft will also demonstrate creating and maintaining an inter-spacecraft communications network that automatically adjusts to changing conditions. If one spacecraft communications node fails, the network automatically reconfigures to maintain full communication capabilities for the remaining operational spacecraft in the swarm.
NASA has partnered with American academic institutions and small businesses to provide key technologies and support mission operations for Starling’s technology demonstration. Partners include small businesses from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which provides early-stage funding and ongoing support for research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs. These partnerships will advance space exploration capabilities and create jobs through the growth of commercial space companies that will both use and provide new technologies.
In this photo engineers from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and Rocket Lab USA, Inc., of Long Beach, California recently teamed up at NASA Ames to integrate Starling’s four spacecraft into Rocket Lab CubeSat dispensers ahead of launch. The spacecraft, each about the size of two stacked cereal boxes, were provided by Blue Canyon Technologies of Boulder, Colorado.
NASA Ames leads the Starling project. NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program, based at NASA Ames and within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), funds and manages the Starling mission. Blue Canyon Technologies designed and manufactured the spacecraft buses and is providing mission operations support. Rocket Lab USA, Inc. provides launch and integration services. Partners supporting Starling’s payload experiments include Stanford University’s Space Rendezvous Lab in Stanford, California, Emergent Space Technologies of Laurel, Maryland, CesiumAstro of Austin, Texas, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., of Melbourne, Florida, and NASA Ames – with funding support by NASA’s Game Changing Development program within STMD.
Image caption: Watson Attai of Axient-MEIS, Starling integration and testing lead, right; Jeff Blair, Starling lead mechanical engineer, center; and Nick Gentz, Rocket Lab payload integration engineer, left, load a Starling spacecraft into a Rocket Lab CubeSat dispenser as Damon Flansburg, Starling chief safety officer, observes at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
Credits: NASA/ Dominic Hart
Last Updated: Jul 5, 2023
Editor: Gianine Figliozzi
Tags: Ames Research Center, CubeSats, Space Tech
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#19
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 07 Jul, 2023 05:33
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