YazataAug 7, 2020 04:13 AM (This post was last modified: Aug 7, 2020 04:20 AM by Yazata.)
Rocketlab says that they are powering towards an attempt to recover an Electron booster soon. They say flight 17. The last launch, the early July one that failed, was fittingly flight 13. So the fourth one yet to come. Rocketlab still has nine launches on its 2020 manifest, though some of the last ones may slip to early 2021. Which suggests to me a recovery attempt around October perhaps.
Peter Beck (Rocketlab boss) says 'Spot the odd one out, S1 recovery booster'. (Photo by Peter Beck, apparently taken in Rocketlab's rocket factory in Huntington Beach CA.)
YazataOct 21, 2020 08:52 PM (This post was last modified: Oct 22, 2020 06:54 PM by Yazata.)
If watching giant cranes in Boca just isn't enough, Rocketlab is going to have a go this afternoon. 21:14 UTC, 5:14 PM EDT, 2:14 PM PDT Launching from Mahia.
Edit: Seems to have be pushed back to 22:02 UTC 6:02 PM EDT, 3:02 PM PDT.
This will be their 15th Electron launch. (Flight 17 is the one they say they will try to recover.) Payload is one small earth observation satellite by Canon, a twin to one that failed to reach orbit on an earlier launch, plus nine little 3-u cubesats for Planet Labs. These are also earth observation satellites. All the details on Michael Baylor's website here.
This was their 15th launch and they say that they are going to try to recover the booster on their 17th.
Rocket Lab photo. The entire Electron rocket is black and the white areas are frost on the LOX tanks. The black parts are kerosine rocket fuel tanks or engine bay skirts.
YazataNov 6, 2020 03:20 AM (This post was last modified: Nov 6, 2020 03:39 AM by Yazata.)
I like Rocketlab! They are like a mini-SpaceX.
Looks like Rocketlab has moved up their first booster recovery attempt to a window opening the 16th of this month. They give all their launches names and this one is "Return to Sender".
These small rocket launches and their bare-bone sites/pads (including Astra and the Copenhagen outfit) remind me of the days of the V-2 tests in White Sands or earlier in Germany. Only they're space-project functional rather than tests or military usage.
YazataNov 19, 2020 08:54 PM (This post was last modified: Nov 19, 2020 09:27 PM by Yazata.)
The rocketlab livestream of their launch and recovery attempt will be here. Watch it on their stream because for every viewer they attract, $1 will be donated by the owner of Valve Software (a videogame company) to Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital's pediatric intensive care unit. (That's why nsf won't be doing a stream and encourage everyone to watch Rocketlab's stream instead.) Besides, this way you get to hear those weird accents.
Rocketlab launch has been pushed back a few minutes due to an airplane over the launch area. They appear to have recycled the start-time for their stream about 20 minutes.
Aug 7, 2020 04:13 AM
(This post was last modified: Aug 7, 2020 04:20 AM by Yazata.)
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