РН Electron от новозеландской Rocket Lab

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Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 Opening

Rocket Lab

Трансляция началась 33 минуты назад

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vu-ZisFbjFo (34:00)

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 Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 26 мин. назад

USAF Lt. Col. Meagan Thrush says that first Electron mission from LC-2, called STP-27RM, will carry a smallsat called Monolith to test the ability of smallsats to host large aperture space weather payloads.

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/12/12/rocket-lab-to-debut-virginia-launch-pad-with-u-s-air-force-mission-next-year/

Rocket Lab to debut Virginia launch pad with U.S. Air Force mission next year
December 12, 2019 | Stephen Clark


File photo of an Electron rocket lifting off from Rocket Lab's launch site in New Zealand, powered by nine liquid-fueled Rutherford engines. Credit: Rocket Lab / Andrew Burns & Simon Moffatt

Rocket Lab plans to launch a research and development microsatellite mission for the U.S. Air Force in the first half of 2020 on the the first flight from the company's new launch facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore, officials announced Thursday.

Company officials announced the payload and launch schedule Thursday during a media briefing at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility to provide an update on Rocket Lab's first U.S. launch pad.

Rocket Lab, a U.S.-New Zealand company, has launched all 10 of its Electron rocket missions from the privately-owned Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, located on the eastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. The new facility in Virginia — designated Launch Complex 2 — will allow Rocket Lab to hasten its flight pace, providing a location to launch U.S. military and other government payloads, and adding an alternative launch site for company's commercial customers.

"Today, just 10 months after we started construction on launch site 2, we're proud to call Wallops Island and Virginia our home," said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's founder and CEO. "We're very proud to deliver a new launch capability to the United States. We're very proud to support U.S. missions with a U.S. launch vehicle from U.S. soil."

Rocket Lab has its corporate headquarters in Southern California, and operates two rocket factories in California and in New Zealand.

The first launch of Rocket Lab's Electron booster from Virginia is planned in the second quarter of 2020 with a research and development microsatellite for the U.S. Air Force, officials said Thursday. The mission will be managed by the U.S. military's Space Test Program, which develops and launches scientific, experimental and technology demonstration satellites for the Defense Department.

"It's an honor and privilege to be launching a U.S. Air Force's Space Test Program payload as the inaugural mission from Launch Complex 2," said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's founder and CEO, in a statement. "We've already successfully delivered STP payloads on Electron from Launch Complex 1, and we're proud to be providing that same rapid, responsive, and tailored access to orbit from U.S. soil.

"With the choice of two Rocket Lab launch sites offering more than 130 launch opportunities each year, our customers enjoy unmatched control over their launch schedule and orbital requirements," Beck said. "Rocket Lab has made frequent, reliable and responsive access to space the new normal for small satellites."

Rocket Lab's two-stage Electron launcher stands around 55 feet (17 meters) tall and measures 3.9 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter. Powered by 3D-printed Rutherford engines, the kerosene-fueled rocket can lift up to 330 pounds of payload into a 310-mile-high (500-kilometer) polar sun-synchronous orbit.

A dedicated Electron launch sells for as low as $7 million, significantly lower than the price of flights on larger rockets. The Electron is designed to give small satellites their own ride into orbit. Before smallsat launch companies like Rocket Lab, CubeSats and microsatellites typically launched as secondary payloads, with their orbital destinations and launch schedules at the whim of the demands of a larger mission.


File photo of an Electron launch from New Zealand. Credit: Trevor Mahlmann/Rocket Lab

"Rocket Lab's launch site at the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, strengthens the United States' ability to provide responsive and reliable access to space," said Col. Robert Bongiovi, director of the launch enterprise directorate at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center. "We look forward to Rocket Lab successfully launching the STP-27RM mission from Launch Complex 2 next spring, which will test new capabilities that we will need in the future."

Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 2 facility is located at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, adjacent to pad 0A used to launch Northrop Grumman's Antares rockets on resupply missions to the International Space Station.

The Antares launcher is more than twice the height of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket, but Rocket Lab's launch manifest projections suggest the Electron will fly from Wallops much more often than the Antares' regular launch cadence of two flights per year.

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport is run by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, or Virginia Space, an organization created by the Virginia legislature to promote commercial space activity within the commonwealth. The spaceport now has three orbital-class launch facilities, one for Rocket Lab, one for the Antares rocket, and another used to launch solid-fueled Minotaur boosters.

Rocket Lab says construction of Launch Complex 2, which sits inside the perimeter fence of the Antares launch pad, started in February and was completed in 10 months. The new pad is designed to support up to 12 launches per year, including "rapid call-up" missions, giving the military a quick-response launch option, according to Rocket Lab.

Engineers developed the new launch pad based on the design of Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 facility in New Zealand.

"I think this team holds the record for the fastest-ever launch pad build," Beck said. "It's just been incredible."

"The opening of Launch Complex 2 is a significant milestone and a remarkable achievement made possible by the strong partnership with Rocket Lab and NASA," said Dale Nash, CEO and executive director of Virginia Space, in a statement. "Almost immediately after Rocket Lab's selection of MARS as its U.S. launch site, engineers, managers and technicians worked tirelessly together across multiple time zones and two continents to make LC-2 a reality."

"The fact that we have an operational launch site less than a year after construction began is testament to the hard work and dedication of the Virginia Space and NASA teams, as well as the unwavering support of our local suppliers," said Shaun D'Mello, Rocket Lab's vice president of launch.


This Oct. 29 image of a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket on pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport shows the black strongback structure at Rocket Lab's neighboring Launch Complex 2 facility. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Rocket Lab launched six missions in 2019, and officials aim to achieve a more rapid launch cadence next year, with launches as often as every two weeks.

"This year, Electron was the fourth-most frequently launched vehicle in the world," Beck said. "We've delivered 47 satellites to orbit so far, so we're really excited to increase this cadence and this history here at LC-2."

The company says more than 150 local construction workers and contractors were involved in the development of Launch Complex 2 in Virginia. The 66-ton launch platform and 7.6-ton strongback were supplied by Steel America, a Virginia-based company.

Rocket Lab's footprint on Virginia's Eastern Shore also includes an Integration and Control Facility at the nearby Wallops Research Park for payload and launch vehicle processing before liftoff. The processing facility will house multiple Electron vehicles at one time, according to Rocket Lab, and will be home to range control operations, payload preparation clean rooms, and office space.

The company says it expects to employ up to 30 people at the Virginia launch site in engineering, launch safety and administrative positions in the coming year.

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 NASA Wallops‏ @NASA_Wallops 12 мин. назад

LC-2 is open for business!

@RocketLab was at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility today to officially open LC-2 – the new pad used to launch the Electron rocket in Virginia. They announced their first launch will lift off in 2020.

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 Rocket Lab @RocketLab 2 ч. назад

What's better than 2 launch pads? You guessed it. Construction is under way on a 3rd pad for Electron. The new pad, located at LC-1, will support increased launch frequency; enable back-to-back missions within days; & ensure a pad is always ready to support rapid call-up launch.

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К #502

https://spacenews.com/air-force-to-schedule-nine-small-launch-missions-in-2020/

...
An Air Force Research Lab experimental payload will fly in the spring aboard a Rocket Lab Electron vehicle from the company's new launch pad at Wallops Island. The STP-27RM Space Test Program mission is an experimental satellite called Monolith that will be used for space weather research.
...

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 Rocket Lab‏ @RocketLab 1 ч. назад

Launch: Electron lifted off 6 times in 2019, bringing our total launch count to 10 and continuing our record of mission success. This year, Electron was the 4th most launched rocket in the world.

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 Rocket Lab @RocketLab 46 мин. назад

AFTS: This year we transitioned to an Autonomous Flight Termination System, replacing traditional human-in-the-loop monitoring systems. It's a move that reduces the turnaround time between missions and provides greater schedule control for our customers.

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https://www.rocketlabusa.com/news/updates/rocket-lab-opens-launch-complex-2-confirms-u-s-air-force-payload-as-first-electron-mission-from-u-s-soil/

Rocket Lab Opens Launch Complex 2, Confirms U.S. Air Force Payload as First Electron Mission from U.S. Soil

Scheduled for lift-off in Q2 2020, the mission will be Rocket Lab's first launch from U.S. soil

Launch Complex 2, Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia. – Rocket Lab, the global leader in small satellite launch, has today officially opened Launch Complex 2, the company's first U.S. launch site, and confirmed the inaugural mission from the site will be a dedicated flight for the U.S. Air Force.

Located at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 represents a new national launch capability for the United States. Construction on the site began in February 2019, with the site completed and ready to support missions just 10 months later. Designed to support rapid call-up missions, Launch Complex 2 delivers responsive launch capability from home soil for U.S. government small satellites. The ability to deploy satellites to precise orbits in a matter of hours, not months or years, is increasingly important to ensure resilience in space.

At a press conference held at NASA Wallops Flight Facility today, the U.S. Air Force's Space Test Program has been announced as the first customer scheduled to launch on an Electron vehicle from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2. The dedicated mission will see a single research and development micro-sat launched from the site in Q2 2020.

Rocket Lab's Founder and Chief Executive, Peter Beck, says the completion of Launch Complex 2 represents a new era in frequent, reliable and responsive space access from the United States.

"It's an honor and privilege to be launching a U.S. Air Force's Space Test Program payload as the inaugural mission from Launch Complex 2. We've already successfully delivered STP payloads on Electron from Launch Complex 1, and we're proud to be providing that same rapid, responsive, and tailored access to orbit from U.S. soil," says Mr. Beck. "With the choice of two Rocket Lab launch sites offering more than 130 launch opportunities each year, our customers enjoy unmatched control over their launch schedule and orbital requirements. Rocket Lab has made frequent, reliable and responsive access to space the new normal for small satellites."

"Rocket Lab's launch site at the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, strengthens the United States' ability to provide responsive and reliable access to space.  We look forward to Rocket Lab successfully launching the STP-27RM mission from Launch Complex 2 next spring, which will test new capabilities that we will need in the future," said Col. Robert Bongiovi, director of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Launch Enterprise.

Virginia Space CEO & Executive Director Dale Nash said, "The opening of Launch Complex 2 is a significant milestone and a remarkable achievement made possible by the strong partnership with Rocket Lab and NASA.  Almost immediately after Rocket Lab's selection of MARS as its U.S. launch site; engineers, managers and technicians worked tirelessly together across multiple time zones and two continents to make LC-2 a reality.  Also, the strong support from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Air Force, as well as the skilled contractor team have contributed greatly to this success.  We look forward to a busy manifest of Electron launches coming off LC-2."

Rocket Lab's Vice President of Launch, Shaun D'Mello, said the rapid pace of construction was made possible by the tireless support of teams from Virginia Space, which owns and operates MARS, and NASA Wallops Flight Facility. "The fact that we have an operational launch site less than a year after construction began is testament to the hard work and dedication of the Virginia Space and NASA teams, as well as the unwavering support of our local suppliers. Thank you for being a huge part of enabling us to open access to space. We're excited to embark on the next phase of working together – regular and reliable Electron launches from the United States," says Mr. D'Mello.

About Launch Complex 2:

Located at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, Launch Complex 2 is Rocket Lab's second launch site for the Electron launch vehicle. It joins Rocket Lab's first site, Launch Complex 1, located on New Zealand's Māhia Peninsula. Between the two sites, Rocket Lab can launch more than 130 times each year, offering small satellite customers unrivalled choice of orbital inclinations and control over their launch schedule.

Following a site selection process in late 2018 involving multiple U.S. spaceports, Rocket Lab selected the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport as the location of Launch Complex 2 due to the wide orbital inclinations the site can support, as well as the rapid planned construction timeframe. Construction on Launch Complex 2 commenced in February 2019, with the site operational just 10 months later in December 2020. More than 150 local construction workers and contractors were involved in the development of Launch Complex 2, with many Virginia-based companies supplying services, hardware and materials for the site. Locally built infrastructure at Launch Complex 2 includes the 66-ton launch platform and 7.6-ton strongback for the Electron launch vehicle, supplied by Virginia-based company Steel America.

Launch Complex 2 is tailored specifically for U.S. government missions to provide responsive launch for small satellites from U.S soil. Launch Complex 2 can support up to 12 missions per year, supplementing the 120 launches possible from Launch Complex 1 every year.

In addition to the pad itself, Launch Complex 2 will also be home to an Integration and Control Facility located within the Wallops Research Park for processing payloads and Electron launch vehicles prior to lift-off. The ICF will house multiple Electron launch vehicles for pre-launch integration and will be home to Launch Complex 2 Range Control operations, payload integrations cleanrooms, and administrative offices.  With the launch site now operational, Launch Complex 2 is expected to employ up to 30 people in engineering, launch safety, and administrative positions in the coming year.

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https://www.nasa.gov/content/upcoming-elana-cubesat-launches

Upcoming ELaNa CubeSat Launches

​​​​ELaNa 32
Date:  NET February 12, 2020
Mission:  Rocketlab – Mahia, New Zealand
1 CubeSat Mission scheduled to be deployed

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• ANDESITE - Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
  

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 Rocket Lab‏ @RocketLab 37 мин. назад

Who's ready for the first Electron launch of 2020? Stage tests are complete and Electron will be on the pad at LC-1 soon. More info next week.

(0:26)

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https://www.rocketlabusa.com/news/updates/rocket-lab-expands-footprint-with-new-long-beach-headquarters-and-production-complex/

Rocket Lab Expands Footprint with New Long Beach Headquarters and Production Complex

Rocket Lab Expands Footprint with New Long Beach Headquarters and Production Complex

Huntington Beach, California. 14 January 2020 – Rocket Lab, the global leader in dedicated small satellite launch, has announced it will open a new facility which will serve as its Corporate Headquarters, provide incremental production capacity, and bring Mission Control Center capabilities to Long Beach, California.

Construction on Rocket Lab's Long Beach Complex has begun, with the facility scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2020. The Complex has been designed to produce more than 12 full Electron launch vehicles each year to support a monthly launch cadence from Rocket Lab's first U.S. launch site, Launch Complex 2 in Wallops Island, Virginia. Production facilities for Rocket Lab's flagship Rutherford engine will also be expanded, with the company planning to produce more than 150 engines for the Electron launch vehicle in 2020.

Rocket Lab's rapidly growing satellite manufacturing capabilities are a key driver behind the new Long Beach complex. In 2019 the company expanded beyond launch services and began designing and manufacturing Rocket Lab satellites to provide an end-to-end mission service. Based on flight-proven technology employed in the Electron Kick Stage, Rocket Lab satellites are a complete spacecraft solution for a range of LEO and Lunar orbit missions, from constellation development, through to technology demonstrations and hosted payloads. The new Long Beach complex will support end-to-end production and testing of Rocket Lab satellites, with the first satellites booked to launch on Electron from Q3 2020.

Rocket Lab's first U.S-based Mission Control Center will also be located at the Long Beach Complex. By operating two launch sites and two Mission Control Centers, Rocket Lab can conduct simultaneous launches from Launch Complexes 1 and 2 to meet the growing need for responsive space launch.  

Rocket Lab Founder and CEO, Peter Beck, says the new Long Beach Complex will mean larger production facilities, purpose-built customer experience areas and room to grow as the company enters another busy launch year.

"As we enter our third year of orbital launches and expand into satellite manufacturing, we're investing in major infrastructure and growing our team to provide frequent and reliable access to orbit for small satellites," he said. "Long Beach is an ideal location for our team; it has a vibrant space community, it's close to many of our suppliers and offers room to grow as our operations do. The City of Long Beach has been incredibly welcoming, and we look forward to working with them to continue growing the local space economy."

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia says "we are incredibly excited to see Rocket Lab move to Long Beach. The expansion of this company in a city with an aerospace history as rich as ours will support new jobs and economic growth in the region."

There are currently more than 50 roles open for positions at the new Long Beach Complex, including positions in engineering, avionics production, Mission Management, Launch Services and more.

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Rocket Lab‏ @RocketLab 36 мин. назад

Today marks two years since we first launched Electron to orbit. That day, and every day since, we've pushed hard to make frequent and reliable access to space a reality for small sats. And we're just getting started.






36 мин. назад

Since that first orbital mission, we've deployed 47 satellites for a diverse range of incredible customers, we've grown our team, built a 2nd launch site & have a 3rd on the way, & we're tracking well towards reusability and lunar missions.

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Rocket Lab‏ @RocketLab 4 ч. назад

We're excited to announce that our first mission of 2020 is a dedicated launch from LC-1 for the @NatReconOfc! The 14-day launch window opens from 31 Jan UTC. Full details: https://bit.ly/2TGJE2U

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 Peter Beck‏ @Peter_J_Beck 39 мин. назад

The 3rd launch pad (LC1-B) underway in New Zealand, is progressing at an astonishing pace!

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Ну, не прошло и полгода...

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/news/updates/rocket-lab-successfully-deploys-nro-satellite-on-11th-electron-mission/

Rocket Lab Successfully Deploys NRO Satellite On 11th Electron Mission

Mahia Peninsula, 31 January 2020 - Rocket Lab, a space technology company and global leader in dedicated small satellite launch, has successfully deployed a payload to orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in the company's 11th Electron mission.

The mission, named 'Birds of a Feather', lifted off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex on New Zealand's Māhia Peninsula at 02:56 UTC (15:56 NZDT, 31 January 2020). The mission was Rocket Lab's first launch for 2020 and was the first dedicated launch of an NRO payload from New Zealand.

The NRO selected Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle for the mission through a competitively awarded contract under the Rapid Acquisition of a Small Rocket (RASR) contract vehicle. RASR allows the NRO to explore new launch opportunities that can provide a streamlined, commercial approach for getting small satellites into space.

"Starting our 2020 launch manifest with a successful mission for the NRO is an immensely proud moment for our team. It once again demonstrated our commitment to providing responsive, dedicated access to space for government small satellites," says Rocket Lab founder and Chief Executive Peter Beck. "Thank you to the NRO for selecting Electron for this historic mission, and congratulations to the Rocket Lab team on another flawless launch that continues our heritage of 100% mission success for customers."

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While the mission's primary objective was to deploy the NRO payload to its final orbit, which was achieved as planned, Rocket Lab also achieved a secondary objective by conducting another guided re-entry of Electron's first stage in another step towards the company's goal of reusable rocket boosters.

The re-entry test for 'Birds of a Feather' is the second time Rocket Lab has guided an Electron first stage booster down to sea-level, following on from the first successful re-entry test conducted on the 'Running Out of Fingers' mission in December 2019. Once again, initial analysis shows the stage made it back to sea-level intact following a guided descent, proving that Electron can withstand the immense heat and forces generated on re-entry.

To guide the stage to a planned splashdown, Electron's first stage was equipped with on-board guidance and navigation hardware, including S-band telemetry and onboard flight computer systems. The stage was also equipped with a reaction control system to orient the booster 180-degrees for its descent and keep it dynamically stable for the re-entry.

As the first Electron launch of 2020, 'Birds of a Feather' kicked off a busy year of activity for Rocket Lab. The company plans to conduct monthly Electron launches this year, including the first mission from Launch Complex 2 in Wallops, Virginia. Major construction projects are also underway, including development of the company's third launch pad, located at Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula, and Rocket Lab's new Headquarters and Production Complex, located in Long Beach, California. 2020 will also see the first launch of Rocket Lab's in-house designed and built Photon satellites, a significant step towards offering beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) capabilities, including Lunar orbits for small satellites.

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Rocket Lab✔@RocketLab 2:42 AM - Feb 5, 2020

Our 3rd launch pad is taking shape! Construction is speeding up on Pad B at Launch Complex 1. By operating two pads at LC-1, and another at LC-2 in the US, we can support back-to-back missions within days & ensure a pad is always in a state of readiness for rapid call-up launch.





2:45 AM - Feb 5, 2020

LC-1B is scheduled for completion by the end of this year and we can't wait to see Electron fly from it. Between Rocket Lab's three pads, our customers will have more than 130 launch opportunities to choose from every year, as well as a wide range of orbital inclinations.

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Peter Beck@Peter_J_Beck 11:12 AM - Feb 5, 2020

Stage 1 reusability:
-Get through the "wall" .               -  -  Now let's slow it down. Rocket Lab's first prototype chute is complete. The Low altitude drop and capture test program begins next week.

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 Peter Beck‏ @Peter_J_Beck 12 мин. назад

I love a good stage separation!

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https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-contract-to-launch-cubesat-to-moon-from-virginia

Feb. 14, 2020
CONTRACT RELEASE C20-005

NASA Awards Contract to Launch CubeSat to Moon from Virginia


Part of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, Launch Complex 2 is Rocket Lab's second launch site for the Electron rocket. Rocket Lab will launch NASA's Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) CubeSat mission to the Moon from the Virginia launch site in early 2021.
Credits: Rocket Lab

NASA has selected Rocket Lab of Huntington Beach, California, to provide launch services for the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) CubeSat.

Rocket Lab, a commercial launch provider licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration, will launch the 55-pound CubeSat aboard an Electron rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. After launch, the company's Photon platform will deliver CAPSTONE to a trans-lunar injection. The engine firing will allow the CubeSat to break free of Earth's gravity and head to the Moon. Then, CAPSTONE will use its own propulsion system to enter a cislunar orbit, which is the orbital area near and around the Moon. The mission is targeted for launch in early 2021 and will be the second lunar mission to launch from Virginia.


Updated illustration of NASA's CAPSTONE CubeSat. The spacecraft design has changed since the mission contract award in September 2019.
Credits: NASA

"NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP) is pleased to provide a low-cost launch service for CAPSTONE and to work with Rocket Lab on this inaugural NASA launch from their new launch site at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia," said Ana Rivera, LSP program integration manager for CAPSTONE at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. LSP will manage the launch service.

"This mission is all about quickly and more affordably demonstrating new capabilities, and we are partnering with small businesses to do it," said Christopher Baker, Small Spacecraft Technology program executive at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "This is true from the perspective of CAPSTONE's development timeline, operational objectives, navigation demonstration and its quickly procured commercial launch aboard a small rocket."

Following a three-month trip to the Moon, CAPSTONE will enter a near rectilinear halo orbit, which is a highly elliptical orbit over the Moon's poles, to verify its characteristics for future missions and conduct a navigation demonstration with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. CAPSTONE will serve as a pathfinder for the lunar spaceship Gateway, a key component of NASA's Artemis program.

"CAPSTONE is a rapid, risk-tolerant demonstration that sets out to learn about the unique, seven-day cislunar orbit we are also targeting for Gateway," said Marshall Smith, director of human lunar exploration programs at NASA Headquarters. "We are not relying only on this precursor data, but we can reduce navigation uncertainties ahead of our future missions using the same lunar orbit."

The firm-fixed-price launch contract is valued at $9.95 million. In September, NASA awarded a $13.7 million contract to Advanced Space of Boulder, Colorado, to develop and operate the CubeSat.

After a final design review this month, Advanced Space and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems Inc. of Irvine, California, will start building and testing the spacecraft.

CAPSTONE is managed by NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology program within the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate. Advanced Exploration Systems within NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate supports the launch and mission operations.

-end-

Last Updated: Feb. 15, 2020
Editor: Sean Potter[/COLOR]