Rocket Lab Successfully
Launches First Electron Mission from U.S. Soil
January 24, 2023
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
successfully launched its 33rd Electron rocket and
first mission from Virginia. The “Virginia is for
Launch Lovers” mission lifted off at 18:00 EST on
January 24th from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (LC-2)
at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport
within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. The mission
deployed three satellites to a 550km orbit for
leading radio frequency geospatial analytics
provider HawkEye 360. Rocket Lab has now
successfully deployed a total of 155 satellites to
orbit from the Company’s three launch pads across
the U.S. and New Zealand.
The successful launch from LC-2
marks the beginning of a new era of responsive
launch capability for small satellites from U.S.
soil. Built with support from Virginia Space, the
Commonwealth of Virginia and NASA Wallops Flight
Facility, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 is designed to
serve the responsive space needs of commercial,
civil, defense, and national security customers,
supporting up to 12 missions per year. Combined with
Rocket Lab’s private Launch Complex 1 site in New
Zealand, the Company’s launch sites can support more
than 130 launch opportunities every year, delivering
flexibility and rapid launch capability for
customers.
“Electron is already the
leading small orbital rocket globally, and today’s
perfect mission from a new pad is testament to our
team’s unrelenting commitment to mission success,”
said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “After
our busiest launch year yet in 2022 with nine
successful missions, what better way to kick off the
new year than by launching Virginia-built spacecraft
from a Virginia launch site, enabled by our rapidly
growing Virginia-based team. This mission has been a
real team effort. Thanks to the consistent support
of NASA, Virginia Space, the FAA, the Commonwealth
and our mission partner HawkEye 360, Rocket Lab is
proud to bring a reliable and responsive new launch
capability to Virginia’s Eastern Shore.”
“We are grateful to share in
the success of today’s launch. Our sixth trio of
satellites and our first mid-latitude satellite
cluster will broaden the scope of our geospatial
insights for our partners around the world,” said
HawkEye 360 CEO, John Serafini. “This also marks our
first launch in our home state of Virginia, making
today’s success even more meaningful. We look
forward to a fruitful partnership with Rocket Lab
and Virginia Space in the months and years ahead.”
The launch of Electron from the
NASA-controlled Wallops Flight Facility also marked
the introduction of the agency’s autonomous flight
termination capability, known as NAFTU (NASA
Autonomous Flight Termination Unit). While Rocket
Lab has successfully flown its own autonomous system
on Electron missions since 2019, NASA developed
NAFTU in conjunction with this launch to provide a
common system for flight termination for a wide
array of launch vehicles at any launch range.
Autonomous flight termination capability now being
in operation at Wallops can provide faster and
cheaper access to space for small satellites by
enabling wider launch windows, smaller launch safety
corridors, and reduced reliance on ground-based
systems.
“We are honored to support the
launch of this historic mission,” said Ted Mercer,
CEO and Executive Director of Virginia Space. “In
addition to being Rocket Lab’s first and only U.S.
launch location, we will also be building rockets
and processing their payload right here in Accomack
County – something that has never been done in
Virginia. Our partnership with Rocket Lab is a
unique opportunity for the Commonwealth of Virginia
to create long-term economic development
opportunities in the form of high-paying jobs,
launch viewing tourism, and construction of new
facilities on the Eastern Shore.”
The “Virginia is for Launch
Lovers” mission was the first of three Electron
launches for HawkEye 360 in a contract that will see
Rocket Lab deliver 15 satellites to low Earth orbit
in 2023 and 2024. These missions will grow HawkEye
360’s constellation of radio frequency monitoring
satellites, enabling the company to better deliver
precise geolocation of radio frequency emissions
anywhere in the world. Supporting Rocket Lab’s
vertical integration strategy, Rocket Lab will also
supply HawkEye 360 with separation systems produced
by Planetary Systems Corporation, a Maryland-based
space hardware company acquired by Rocket Lab in
December 2021.
Virginia is the first U.S.
launch location of the Electron launch vehicle, but
it will also be home to the Company’s new larger
launch vehicle Neutron, which will be built, tested,
launched, and landed within the Wallops Flight
Facility in the future. Construction is underway of
the Neutron Production Complex as development of the
new rocket progresses, thanks to the continuous
support from the Commonwealth and Virginia Space.
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