Payload for Nasa up, up and away
Rocket Lab’s second commercial payload took off last night from its launch pad on the Mahia Peninsula.
The mission will put 13 tiny satellites called CubeSats into lowEarth orbit for Nasa, and will be the first time the US government agency had booked a private rocket to get the miniature satellites into space.
Rocket Lab tried to get a rocket away on Thursday but was thwarted by bad weather. But conditions were fine and still yesterday and the rocket took off just after 7.30pm.
It was Rocket Lab’s third launch of the year, including its successful test flight in January. Rocket Lab has 16 launches planned next year.
Its newly opened Auckland plant has the capacity to support a launcha-week by 2020 goal. Ultimately, Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck wants 130 launches a year.
The industry is attracting more investors. Rocket Lab recently raised a further US$140 million ($206m) at a US$1 billion-plus valuation (with ACC and Sir Stephen Tindall chipping in) as Beck talked of grabbing a good share of 2600-plus satellite launches planned in the next four years.
But its latest flight followed US airlines’ warning that a growing number of launches was causing issues in already overcrowded skies.
Space X’s Falcon Heavy launch in Florida in February delayed 61 flights, and many others took longer routes during its three-hour launch window.
All up, 1400 flights have been affected by spacecraft launches this year. The US Federal Aviation Commission often shuts down airspace for hours, even though a rocket takes only 90 seconds to reach space.