Rocket Lab set for the moon
New Zealand-founded space company Rocket Lab has announced plans to fire satellites into the moon’s orbit from its New Zealand launch site.
The Kiwi start-up announced yesterday it planned to send payloads into lunar orbit by the end of 2020 using its Electron rocket and a new Photon spacecraft to ‘‘support deeper space exploration and the return of human presence on the moon’’.
Rocket Lab was founded by 2016 New Zealand entrepreneur of the year Peter Beck, but is now largely United States-owned with investors including missiles and fighter jets manufacturer Lockheed Martin and US venture capital firms.
While the company is headquartered in the US, 400 of its 500 staff work in New Zealand with a production complex in Auckland and launch site on the Mahia Peninsula in Hawke’s Bay.
Two years after it started firing small satellites into low Earth orbit using Electron, Rocket Lab is now planning to send small satellites into ‘‘medium, geostationary, and lunar orbits’’ using Electron and Photon.
A geostationary orbit is a circular orbit above the equator which follows Earth’s rotation and has a similar orbital period to Earth meaning a satellite or spacecraft in this orbit appears stationary in the sky to an observer on Earth.
Asked if Photon could reach other planets, a Rocket Lab spokeswoman said its focus was on low Earth and lunar orbits for now, but missions beyond that were not off the table. Such missions would launch from Mahia and Wallops Island in Virginia, US, which is under construction.
Beck, Rocket Lab’s chief executive, said there was increasing international interest in lunar and beyond low Earth orbit exploration from government and private sectors. ‘‘Small satellites will play a crucial role in science and exploration, as well as providing communications and navigation infrastructure to support returning humans to the moon – they play a vital role as pathfinders to retire risk and lay down infrastructure for future missions.’’
There were many potential exploration instruments and satellites waiting for launch to deeper space, he said. ‘‘Rocket Lab is poised to become the dedicated ride to the moon and beyond for small satellites.’’