Rocket Lab launches its f irst online booking system
SPACE race trailblazer Rocket Lab is selling slots to send satellites into orbit for as little as US$50,000 (NZ$76,000).
Founded in New Zealand and with offices in Auckland and Los Angeles, Rocket Lab is aiming to make space more accessible and affordable using its 18-metre carbon composite rocket Electron.
Chief executive Peter Beck said the first Electron test flight was scheduled for the end of 2015, and would probably be launched in Canterbury.
But already companies booking spots on missions.
Today (NZ time) at the SmallSat conference in Utah, Beck announced the first system for booking satellite launches online.
Using Rocket Lab’s booking system, customers wanting to send a satellite into orbit could select a date, destination and position on the Electron, he said.
‘‘Previously, this information has been difficult to access and the booking process was often cumbersome – now you can do this on your phone.’’
The Electron can carry either one large satellite weighing up to 150kg or a number of smaller satellites – known as CubeSats.
CubeSats are a standardised platform, manufactured by a third
were party, that can be as small as a 10 x 10 cm cube, weighing less than 2kg.
CubeSats can be used for services including weather monitoring, maritime data gathering, crop optimisation and natural disaster management, Beck said.
Rocket Lab is offering to deliver two CubeSats sizes into orbit. A 1u cube would cost between US$50,000 and US$90,000 and a 3u cube would cost up to US$250,000.
The rocket can carry eight to 24 CubeSats satellites per mission. ‘‘Our job is to deliver a customers’ parcel to a point in space.’’
Rocket Lab plans to carry out 22 CubeSat Electron launches over the next three years.