РН Electron от новозеландской Rocket Lab

[Max Andriyahov]

Тю! С Танегасимой и рядом не стояло.

у японцев гора пониже)

[Salo]

http://gisborneherald.co.nz/localnews/2564230-135/rocket-lab-test-flights-delayed

Rocket Lab test flights delayed
by Suzi Lewis, Wairoa Star            
Published: November 23, 2016 9:27AM        
Company now plans to conduct first test flight early in 2017.

TEST flights from Rocket Lab's Mahia launch site will now take place early next year.
Rocket Lab originally scheduled road closures for test launches between November 17 and December 24. The company is now planning to conduct the first test flight early next year.
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.
Ms Moreau-Hammond said this would also alleviate some pressure on Mahia, which experiences a considerable population spike through the Christmas holidays.
"We've had a hugely successful year, and are pleased to have qualified multiple, major vehicle systems, completed Launch Complex 1, doubled the size of our team and completed many regulatory milestones.
"We will continue to make information available to the public in the lead-up to the first test. We are thankful for the continued support of our neighbours, suppliers and supporters," she said.
Ms Moreau-Hammond said further details about road closures would be available in the coming weeks but there would be no closures this year.
The test launches will see the company send its sleek Electron rocket vehicle into orbit from the Launch Complex 1 site at Onenui Station.
Rocket Lab's mission is to remove commercial barriers to space, making it accessible by providing frequent and affordable launch opportunities.
The company opened the Launch Complex 1 site in September in a ceremony at Onenui Station.

[vogel]

Rocket Lab Completes Major Technical Milestone Ahead of Test Launches
POSTED ON 13 DECEMBER 2016

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

[Salo]

Rocket Lab ‏@RocketLabUSA 16 ч16 часов назад
 Rocket Lab completes final major technical milestone ahead of test launches - Electron Stage 1 acceptance complete! http://rocketlab.co.nz/latest/rocket-lab-completes-final-major-technical-milestone-before-first-test-launches/ ...

[Salo]

Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  2 мин.2 минуты назад  
Richards: cutting the ribbon on our new facility at Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 17 in a few months. Launching w/Rocket Labs from NZ.
 
  Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  5 мин.5 минут назад  
Bob Richards, Moon Express: making a "big announcement" next week about our further funding. On path to launch this year.

[instml]

Неужто долетят до Луны.

[Salo]

Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  4 ч.4 часа назад  
Stark: first launch of Electron by Rocket Lab is scheduled for end of this month; NASA VCLS mission will be their 6th, later this year.

[Salo]

Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  9 ч.9 часов назад  
Rocket Lab tells me "no test this month but we're certainly getting close."

[Алексей]

Ракету привезли на стартовый комплекс

[Salo]

Rocket Lab ‏@RocketLabUSA  6 ч.6 часов назад  
Three test launches are planned before Rocket Lab begins commercial satellite launches.
https://twitter.com/i/videos/832118375828508672?embed_source=facebook

[Salo]

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/latest/electronarriveslaunchcomplex1/

Electron Arrives at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1
Posted on 16 February 2017

Rocket Lab delivered its first Electron vehicle to Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 late last night marking the beginning of pre-flight checkouts.
The rocket was trucked to the Mahia Peninsula from Rocket Lab's Auckland facility.
"It's an important milestone for our team and for the space industry. In the past, it's been countries that go to space, not companies," said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's CEO. "Through the innovative use of new technologies our team has created a launch vehicle designed for manufacture at scale. Our ultimate goal is to change our ability to access space."
"Since we commenced this project three years ago, our team has accomplished an incredible amount – the vehicle has gone through rigorous qualification and acceptance testing, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 has been completed and major tracking infrastructure has been installed in remote locations."
Over the coming weeks, a series of tests and checkouts will be conducted at the site before the rocket, named It's a Test, is signed-off to fly.
"We put it out to our team to name the vehicle," said Beck. "We wanted to acknowledge the intensive research and development Electron has undergone and that continues with these test flights."
The launch, which will be the first orbital launch attempt from New Zealand, is the first of three planned tests before Rocket Lab begins providing customers commercial satellite launches.
 
 

[Salo]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11801629

Rocket Lab's big leap: Test vehicle moved to launch site on Mahia Peninsula
6:00 PM Thursday Feb 16, 2017        
         
Rocket Lab's first Electron vehicle has arrived at its launch site south of Gisborne in what the New Zealand company says is an important milestone for the space industry.
The historic test launch will take place in ''the coming months'', dependent on equipment testing and weather on the Mahia Peninsula.
Pre-flight checks would now start on the 17m tall rocket - with a call sign chosen by staff: ''It's a Test.''
"It's an important milestone for our team and for the space industry, both in New Zealand and globally. In past, it's been countries that go to space, not companies," said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and chief executive.
''I'm immensely proud of the team it's a great effort by a group of incredible people."
The rocket was taken by truck in two climate-controlled containers to the Mahia Peninsula from Rocket Lab's manufacturing base near Auckland Airport. Launch Complex 1 is at the tip of the peninsula, about 90km south of Gisborne.
The launch will be the first orbital launch attempt from New Zealand. It is the first of three planned test launches before Rocket Lab begins providing customers commercial satellite launches.
Launch windows of several days will be announced but Rocket Lab is worried sightseers may be disappointed if launches are postponed or scrubbed due to weather or technical modifications to the vehicle.
"We understand the desire everyone has to get out there and watch," said Beck. "History has shown with any test launch programme that there is a likelihood of scrubs. We value everyone's time, and wouldn't want people waiting around for us."

[Salo]

http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/16/14628922/rocket-lab-electron-rutherford-engine-small-satellite-launcher

Rocket Lab's experimental rocket arrives at New Zealand launch pad for debut flight
The Electron is almost ready to start test launches
by Loren Grush@lorengrush Feb 16, 2017, 12:00am EST

The first Electron test vehicle at Rocket Lab's New Zealand launch site. Rocket Lab  
 
After three years of developing a brand new rocket, aerospace startup Rocket Lab has finally transported a finished vehicle to the New Zealand launch pad where it will take its first flight. The rocket, called the Electron, has been tested on the ground over the last year but has never been flown to space before. Over the next couple of months, Rocket Lab will conduct a series of test launches of the vehicle to verify that it's ready to carry payloads into orbit for commercial customers.
Compared to other major commercial rockets like the Falcon 9 or the Atlas V, the Electron is pretty small — only 55 feet tall and and around 4 feet in diameter. That's because the vehicle is specifically designed to launch small satellites. The vehicle can carry payloads ranging fr om 330 to 500 pounds into an orbit more than 300 miles up. That's a relatively light lift contrasted with the Falcon 9, which can carry more than 50,000 pounds into lower Earth orbit.
 
The Electron is specifically designed to launch small satellites
 
But Rocket Lab isn't interested in competing with major players like SpaceX or the United Launch Alliance. The company wants to capitalize solely on what is being hailed as the small satellite revolution — a trend of making space probes as tiny as possible. Typically, aerospace manufacturers will spend years and millions of dollars developing a satellite that's roughly the size of a bus. And then an entire rocket is needed just to get one thousand-pound satellite into space. But technology has advanced in recent years, and companies have come up with ways to miniaturize their satellites, making these space probes as small as a shoebox. Small satellites usually take less time and money to make, and since they're so compact, multiple probes can be launched to space on a single rocket.
Various aerospace companies have started focusing on making and operating small satellites, and because of the enthusiasm surrounding these tiny spacecraft, Rocket Lab has received a huge influx of launch requests. "The customer uptake for the product has just been phenomenal," Peter Beck, the founder of Rocket Lab, tells The Verge. "I think it's a testament to the industry that 2017 for us is totally fully booked and has been for a year or more. And 2018, there's only a few spots left. We haven't even flown the vehicle yet on one test flight, and the manifest is overflowing."
      A test of the first stage of the Electron. Rocket Lab  
Perhaps one of the things that makes Rocket Lab's Electron so attractive to customers is the estimated price tag. The company claims it will only charge around $4.9 million for each launch. That's a cheap option compared to one flight of the Falcon 9, for instance, which starts at $62 million.
 
The Electron sports some unique design features
 
The Electron also sports some unique design features. The vehicle's nine main engines, known as Rutherford engines, are manufactured mostly through 3D printing; they're also partially electric. Batteries are used to power the turbopumps — key hardware that funnels the vehicle's propellant into the engines. Typically, turbopumps are powered by a gas generator, where you essentially have another engine that spins the pumps' turbine blades, but Beck says the batteries reduce the complexity of the engine's machinery.
"The reason why we arrived at the electric turbopump is we sat down and analyzed wh ere the cost and complexity is in the engine, and it's always in the turbine machinery," says Beck. "The electric turbopump cycle allows us to take that really complicated thermodynamic problem and just turn it into software."
      The Electron rocket. Rocket Lab  
Getting the rocket and its engines ready for spaceflight has certainly taken time, but Rocket Lab has also had another daunting task to accomplish before the Electron can fly: creating an entirely new launch pad in New Zealand. It's the country's first launch site and the first private orbital launch range ever. And making the site functional has required more than just building the pad. Rocket Lab had to build tracking stations on remote islands in the Pacific, to trace the rocket's path when it launches. The site also had to receive the necessary regulatory approvals to launch rockets.
 
"It's really been a massive infrastructure build, as well as a launch vehicle build."
 
"It's really been a massive infrastructure build, as well as a launch vehicle build," says Beck. "We joke around here that we wish that we just had to build a rocket like everyone else, because that would be easy. We had to build all the infrastructure that, normally, you would just turn up to a launch range and use."
      Rocket Lab's New Zealand launch site on the Mahia Peninsula. Rocket Lab  
All launches out of the US take place at launch ranges run by government organizations. With the New Zealand pad, Rocket Lab will be in control of the launch site, the tracking facilities, and the launch vehicle. The goal is to use all of these tools to launch one rocket per week, creating frequent access to space for the company's customers.
But first, Rocket Lab has to pull off its test flights of the Electron. The company plans to perform three test launches, the first of which is supposed to happen within the next few months. The inaugural rocket has been dubbed "It's a Test," and will carry scientific instruments in lieu of a payload to collect data about the flight. "We're a very test heavy company; we do a lot of diligence in that area," says Beck.
 
If the three flights are successful, then Rocket Lab will get to work launching for its customers
 
If those three flights are successful, then Rocket Lab will get to work fulfilling its contractual obligations to its customers. Those include small satellite operators Planet and Spire, as well as NASA. The space agency awarded Rocket Lab a $6.95 million contract in 2015 to launch a small NASA payload into lower Earth orbit. Additionally, Rocket Lab is slated to launch a small lunar lander for Moon Express, an aerospace company with long-term ambitions of mining the Moon someday. Moon Express is a competitor in the Google Lunar X Prize competition — an international contest to send the first private spacecraft to the Moon's surface — and in order to win, participants must launch their landers before December 31st, 2017.
So the success of Rocket Lab's test flights is good news for Moon Express' chances of winning the Google Lunar X Prize. "We are excited to see the Electron rocket arrive at the Mahia launch complex for its first test flight," Bob Richards, CEO of Moon Express, tells The Verge. "The maiden launch of the Electron will be an exciting moment for Rocket Lab and the entire commercial space industry."

[Salo]

http://spacenews.com/rocket-lab-ships-first-electron-rocket-to-launch-site/

Rocket Lab ships first Electron rocket to launch site
by Caleb Henry — February 16, 2017
 
Rocket Lab's first Electron rocket, named "It's a Test," arrived at the company's Launch Complex 1 facility to kick off pre-flight checkouts ahead of a test campaign consisting of three trial launches. Credit: Rocket Lab  
 
WASHINGTON — Small satellite launch company Rocket Lab shipped its first orbital launch vehicle to the company's Launch Complex 1 facility to kick off pre-flight checkouts ahead of a test campaign consisting of three trial launches.
The startup had originally planned to commence test launches in 2016, but opted to perform additional ground testing, give its team some downtime around the Christmas holiday, and also complete infrastructure for the launch facility at Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, Founder and Chief Executive Peter Beck told SpaceNews Feb. 15.
Beck said that the first rocket's name, "It's a Test," is indicative of the company's mindset toward the debut launch as being an extension of the research and development for Electron before it formally enters service.
"What we want to do is make sure we come into our commercial manifest with a vehicle that's well buttoned and ready to go," said Beck. "We have a lot of customers and commitments. We don't really have time to have a vehicle that's still in development."
The Electron launcher is a carbon-composite rocket designed to launch payloads up to 150 kilograms into a 500-kilometer low Earth orbit. Announced customers include Planet, Moon Express, NASA and Spire.
Rocket Lab, after launching more than 80 sounding rockets, started development of the orbital Electron launcher three years ago. The company's long-term goal is to perform roughly one launch a week, providing dedicated missions for small satellite operators.
Beck said each of the first three trial launches will scale in difficulty, increasing altitude and payload mass each time so that Rocket Lab can gauge the performance capability of the rocket. Rocket Lab will collect more than 20,000 channels of data from each flight, he said.
"The first test flights are all about generating data," he said.
However, only the first launch will be completely absent of customers. Beck said the second and third test flights will have some customer payloads on board.
Rocket Lab cautioned that the probability of abandoned, or scrubbed, launch attempts with the test flights is high due to the nature of the company's test regime. The company didn't give a timeframe for launch. Spokesperson Catherine Moreau-Hammond told SpaceNews Feb. 16 that the timing of the launches depends on the progress of Electron checkouts at site.
"We expect to notify windows of attempts several weeks in advance of the launch," she said.
"We understand the desire everyone has to get out there and watch," Beck said in a prepared statement. "History has shown with any test launch program that there is a likelihood of scrubs. We value everyone's time, and wouldn't want people waiting around for us."
If all goes as planned, Beck said Rocket Lab wants to launch seven times this year — three tests and four fully-commercial — and 13 or more times in 2018. Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 facility in New Zealand is licensed to launch once every 72 hours, and the company has highlighted the location as one with limited constraints thanks to an absence of much maritime or aviation activity.

[Димитър]

Когда запускать собираются?
А то много букоф по-англицки, не понял.

[Max_Z]

Тётя Вика говорит, что ориентировочно в марте...

[Чебурашка]

Новая Зеландия имеет шансы стать следующей страной, запустившей собственный спутник? Обойдя Бразилию, Индонензию и прочие большие страны?

Кто бы мог подумать 

[Alex_II]

Чебурашка пишет:
Кто бы мог подумать

Там таки скучно... А шебутные граждане попадаются... Вот, нашли себе дело...

[tnt22]

http://spaceflight101.com/rocket-labs-electron-enters-first-launch-campaign/

Rocket Lab's battery-powered Electron enters Launch Campaign ahead of Maiden Mission               
  February 20, 2017
 
           

Photo: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab's innovative Electron rocket has entered a final stage in the preparation for the company's maiden launch, arriving at its New Zealand launch site for several weeks of processing and testing. No firm timeline has been set for the mission, but Rocket Lab plans to fly three qualification missions in relatively close succession to be able to enter operational services before the end of the year.

Спойлер

The components of the first flight vehicle arrived at Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula last Thursday to undergo assembly before rollout to the sea-side launch facility for final verification testing, putting the rocket and the brand new ground systems through their paces before flight.

"It's an important milestone for our team and for the space industry. In the past, it's been countries that go to space, not companies," said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's CEO. "Through the innovative use of new technologies our team has created a launch vehicle designed for manufacture at scale. Our ultimate goal is to change our ability to access space."

Photo: Rocket Lab

Electron is the world's first "battery-powered rocket" to make it to the launch pad, employing an electric pump-fed combustion cycle that uses electric turbopumps instead of complex high-pressure turbomachinery driven by combustion gas in open or closed cycle engines. With Electron, Rocket Lab sets out to develop a cost-effective commercial launch service catered to the niche of small satellites that would normally have to purchase secondary payload slots, making them dependent on the schedule and orbital requirements of another project.

Electron's first mission has been aptly named "It's a Test" by the Rocket Lab workforce. "We put it out to our team to name the vehicle," said Beck. "We wanted to acknowledge the intensive research and development Electron has undergone and that continues with these test flights."

 
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 – Photo: Rocket Lab

The first flight-ready rocket was trucked fr om Rocket Labs manufacturing base near Auckland to Mahia, located on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island from wh ere Electron will be able to reach a wide variety of orbital inclinations.

Over the coming weeks, teams will assemble the booster in a horizontal integration facility before moving Electron to its launch pad.

The company has not provided a schedule for their inaugural launch campaign and Electron will be flying without any satellite payloads. "It's a Test" will host an instrumentation package to capture a number of performance parameters beyond the typical launch vehicle telemetry to gain insight into how the rocket's various systems and structures behave in different flight environments.

First Stage Delivery – Photo: Rocket Lab

Test flights two and three, expected to come within a few weeks of each other, will carry CubeSats into orbit under contact with ISIS – Innovative Solutions in Space and satellite Internet start-up Outernet Inc. Rocket Lab is contracted for at least seven operational missions, including a Venture-Class launch contract from NASA, three dedicated launches for San Francisco-based Planet, and three flights for Moon Express. Beyond that, the company is offering quarterly Rideshare launches to a 500km SSO starting in Q2 of this year.

Electron offers small satellite operators flexibility in setting their own schedule and catering to their orbital requirements with a launch price of under $5 million for dedicated missions and around $6.5 million when launching CubeSat cluster missions. The two-stage rocket can lift up to 225 Kilograms into Low Earth Orbit and 150kg into a 500-Kilometer Sun Synchronous Orbit that is of relevance for Earth-Imaging companies.

>>Technical Overview of the Electron SmallSat Launcher

Electron First Stage – Image: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab developed all components of the Electron rocket in-house, coming up with an all-composite design that makes use of advanced carbon composite materials to build a strong and very light-weight structure. Overall, the rocket stands 17 meters tall and measures 1.2 meters in diameter with a launch mass of around 12.5 metric tons. Its first stage is powered by nine Rutherford engines, generating a launch thrust of 15 metric-ton-force that rises to 18,700 Kilogram-force when flying through the rarefied upper atmosphere.

Rutherford is the first electric-pump fed engine to reach the launch pad, also the first Kerosene/Liquid Oxygen engine to use 3D printing for all primary components. Two brushless DC motors, each the size of a soda can, drive the engine's turbomachinery, spinning at up to 40,000RPM. Thirteen batteries installed on the rocket's first stage deliver over 1 Megawatt of power during just over two and a half minutes of first stage operation, relying on advanced Li-Polymer battery technology.

Electron Second Stage – Photo: Rocket Lab

A 22-Kilonewton, vacuum-optimized version of the Rutherford engine powers Electron's second stage into orbit, using three battery packs to power its pumps, two of which are jettisoned in flight. Sitting atop the second stage can either be a single payload or any combination of CubeSats amounting to 82 CubeSat Units. Rocket Lab developed a 'Plug-In Payload' Integration system that allows satellite operators to integrate their own payload stack and ship it to the launch site for a single assembly step with the rocket, taking only a matter of hours.

Upon completion of the company's flight qualification program, Rocket Lab hopes to begin stepping up their launch rate to one mission per week. Their Mahia site is licensed for one launch per three-day period and Rocket Lab is also looking into launching from Cape Canaveral and the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska.

[свернуть]

[Димитър]

Subrogator пишет:
Тётя Вика говорит, что ориентировочно в марте...

Март начинается через неделю ...