Constellations, Launch, New Space and more…
TAG
“Peter Beck”
Space SPAC Index – Redwire, Astra, and Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck File to Sell Stock
Space SPAC Index – Redwire, Astra, and Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck File to Sell Stock

Welcome to S-SPACi! In this edition, Astra announced a reverse stock split and filed to sell more shares, Redwire filed to raise $400 million, Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck plans to sell millions in stock, Rocket Lab won a contract for four HASTE launches, Planet Labs and SatixFy reported higher revenues, Virgin Galactic completed another commercial flight, Terran Orbital doubled its satellite production capacity, and Satellogic announced a new partnership.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • September 13, 2023
Rocket Lab Saw Higher Revenues, Launches and Net Loss in 2022
Rocket Lab Saw Higher Revenues, Launches and Net Loss in 2022

Rocket Lab’s (NAS: RKLB) revenues soared more than 200% last year as the company launched the Electron rocket a record nine times and expanded its space systems business. Rocket Lab also recorded a higher loss as the company dealt with the high cost of obtaining the revenue and invested in the development of the much larger Neutron launcher.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • March 9, 2023
Rocket Lab Releases ESG Impact Report

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Rocket Lab USA PR) — Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB), a leading launch and space systems company, today released its Impact report, highlighting Rocket Lab’s commitment to make it faster, easier, and more affordable to access space, and the company’s efforts and successes in its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) priorities.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • August 25, 2022
A Description of Rocket Lab’s Mission to Venus
Figure 1. Rocket Lab’s Electron-launched private mission to Venus will deploy a small probe from a high-energy Photon.

Originally published by MDPI Open Access Journals

Rocket Lab Mission to Venus

by Richard French 1,*,Christophe Mandy 1,Richard Hunter 1,Ehson Mosleh 1,Doug Sinclair 1,Peter Beck 1,Sara Seager 2,3,4,Janusz J. Petkowski 2,Christopher E. Carr 5,David H. Grinspoon 6,Darrel Baumgardner 7,8 and on behalf of the Rocket Lab Venus Team †1

Rocket Lab, 3881 McGowen Street, Long Beach, CA 90808, USA
2 Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
3 Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
4 Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
5 School of Aerospace Engineering and School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
6 Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
7 Droplet Measurement Technologies, LLC, 2400 Trade Centre Ave, Longmont, CO 80503, USA
8 Cloud Measurement Solutions, LLC, 415 Kit Carson Rd., Unit 7, Taos, NM 87571, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Collaborators/Membership of the Group/Team Name is provided in the Acknowledgments.

Academic Editor: Pierre Rochus
Aerospace 20229(8), 445; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9080445
Received: 21 July 2022 / Revised: 10 August 2022 / Accepted: 11 August 2022 / Published: 13 August 2022|
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Search for Signs of Life on Venus: Science Objectives and Mission Designs)

Download PDF | Browse Figures | Review Reports | Citation Export

Abstract

Regular, low-cost Decadal-class science missions to planetary destinations will be enabled by high-ΔV small spacecraft, such as the high-energy Photon, and small launch vehicles, such as Electron, to support expanding opportunities for scientists and to increase the rate of science return. The Rocket Lab mission to Venus is a small direct entry probe planned for baseline launch in May 2023 with accommodation for a single ~1 kg instrument. A backup launch window is available in January 2025. The probe mission will spend about 5 min in the Venus cloud layers at 48–60 km altitude above the surface and collect in situ measurements. We have chosen a low-mass, low-cost autofluorescing nephelometer to search for organic molecules in the cloud particles and constrain the particle composition.

Keywords: VenusRocket Labautofluorescing nephelometersmall spacecraftsmall launch vehicle

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • August 19, 2022
Rocket Lab to Launch 150th Satellite on Upcoming Mission for Synspective

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Rocket Lab USA PR) — Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) today announced its upcoming 30th Electron launch will deliver its 150th payload and 300th Rutherford engine to space. The mission is a dedicated launch for Japanese Earth-imaging satellite constellation operator Synspective.

“The Owl Spreads Its Wings” mission is scheduled to lift-off from Pad B at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand during a launch window opening in mid-September. The mission is the second of a bulk buy of three Electron launches by Synspective to deliver their StriX satellites to low Earth orbit. StriX-1 is Synspective’s first commercial satellite for its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation to deliver imagery that can detect millimeter-level changes to the Earth’s surface from space, independent of weather conditions on Earth and at any time of the day or night. “The Owl Spreads Its Wings” will be Rocket Lab’s third mission for Synspective after successful launches in December 2020 and February 2022.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • August 16, 2022
Rocket Lab’s MAX Flight Software Surpasses 50th Mission Milestone

The revolutionary off-the-shelf flight software has now enabled more than 50 missions on orbit

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Rocket Lab USA, Inc. PR) — Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, achieved a major milestone in Q2 with its MAX Flight Software now operating on 53 spacecraft, for a cumulative 161 years in space.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • July 14, 2022
Rocket Lab Successfully Launches First of Two Responsive Space Missions for the National Reconnaissance Office
Lift-off of the NROL-162 national security mission for the National Reconnaissance Office on Electron from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1. (Photo: Business Wire)

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Rocket Lab USA PR) — Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, has successfully launched the first of two responsive space missions for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • July 13, 2022
Rocket Lab Introduces Responsive Space Program

The program will on-ramp customers by creating tailored responsive launch and satellite development solutions, granting them access to Rocket Lab’s rapid, 24-hour call up launch service and rapid satellite build capability

All black rocket on pad with the words “Electron” in white vertically down the rocket with blue skies and wispy clouds in the background. (Credits: Rocket Lab)

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Rocket Lab USA, Inc. PR) — Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, has today announced it is introducing a Responsive Space Program designed to on-ramp commercial and government satellite operators to the Company’s 24/7 rapid call-up launch capability and streamlined satellite build and operation options.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • July 7, 2022
CAPSTONE Satellite, Designed and Built by Terran Orbital, Successfully Deploys from Rocket Lab Lunar Photon into Lunar Transfer Orbit
CAPSTONE approaches Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (Image Credit: Terran Orbital Corporation)

BOCA RATON, Fla. (Terran Orbital Corporation PR) — Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP), a global leader in satellite solutions, primarily serving the United States and Allied aerospace and defense industries, today announced the successful deployment of the CAPSTONE spacecraft from a Rocket Lab Lunar Photon into a Lunar Transfer Orbit. Terran Orbital designed, built, and integrated Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, otherwise known as CAPSTONE, and is flying a pathfinding mission to the moon in support of NASA’s historic Artemis program. With deployment complete, Terran Orbital will now commence the satellite’s mission operations. CAPSTONE is owned and operated by Advanced Space on behalf of NASA.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • July 7, 2022