Rocket Labs Electron to launch two BlackSky satellites on 25th mission

Date:
Sat, 02 Apr 2022 11:39:40 +0000

Description:
Rocket Lab is ready to launch two satellites for BlackSky on the 25th flight of The post Rocket Labs Electron to launch two BlackSky satellites on 25th mission appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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Rocket Lab is ready to launch two satellites for BlackSky on the 25th flight of its Electron rocket. The mission is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex-1A (LC-1A) at Rocket Labs launch site on the Mahia peninsula in New Zealand at 12:41 UTC on Saturday (1:41 AM local time on Saturday).

California-based Rocket Lab has begun a tradition of giving each of its Electron missions a nickname. In accordance with this, Saturdays launch is named Without Mission a Beat.



The flight will launch a pair of high-resolution imaging satellites for BlackSky . These are the 16 and 17 Block 2 satellites to be launched as part of BlackSkys operational constellation. Each satellite carries a panchromatic optical imaging payload.

Saturdays launch will be the seventh mission that Rocket Lab has carried out for BlackSky, and their fourth dedicated launch with two satellites for the company. Two BlackSky satellites were lost in 2021 when Electron flight 20, Running out of Toes, failed to reach orbit .

Without Mission a Beat was originally scheduled to be Rocket Labs first
launch in 2022; however, in January, Rocket Lab announced a delay to the launch to accommodate shifts in customer timelines. The delay allowed Rocket Lab to move forward with the launch of Synspectives StriX-, a mission dubbed The Owls Night Continues which was conducted successfully at the end of February.



Electron was developed by Rocket Lab to serve the small satellite launch market. The vehicle has a monocoque structure built out of carbon fiber composite. It measures 18 meters in length with a diameter of 1.2 meters. See Also Electron F25 Updates Rocket Lab Electron Forum Section L2 MasterSection Click here to Join L2

The first stage of Electron is powered by nine Rutherford engines, named
after New Zealand-born scientist Ernest Rutherford. The second stage is powered by a single vacuum-optimized Rutherford engine burning RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen (LOX).

Rutherford employs an electric pump-fed cycle and was the first such engine
to fly on an orbital launch vehicle.

Electron launched for the first time on May 25, 2017, with the Its a Test mission , flown from Launch Complex 1A. Although the first flight failed to reach orbit, a second flight, Still Testing, was completed successfully on January 21, 2018 . Prior to Saturdays launch, Electron has launched 24 times, with 21 successful missions.

The Mahia launch site is located on the north island of New Zealand. It has two launch pads: LC-1A, which will be used for Saturdays launch, and LC-1B.

LC-1B was used for the first time in February on Rocket Labs most recent launch, The Owls Night Continues. The two launch pads at Rocket Labs Mahia launch site (Credit: Rocket Lab)

A third launch pad, Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) , is located in the United States at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia . LC-2 has yet to host an Electron launch, with its first mission expected
later this year.

Rocket Lab is currently working towards making the first stage of the
Electron rocket reusable. While no recovery will be attempted during
Saturdays launch, the company has been making progress towards its first airborne recovery attempt, which will use a helicopter to catch the booster
as it descends under parachute.

Rocket Labs first successful booster recovery came during Electrons 16th flight, Return to Sender, when the rockets first stage was recovered after making a soft splashdown in the ocean.

These efforts are helping Rocket Lab gain knowledge and experience as it designs its next-generation launch vehicle, Neutron, which is intended to be fully reusable . Neutron is expected to make its launch from Wallops Island
no earlier than 2024.

Launch day activities for Without Mission a Beat will begin at T-6 hours when the road to the launch site on the Mahia peninsula will be closed. The Electron rocket will then be raised into the vertical orientation on LC-1A, with loading of RP-1 propellant beginning approximately four hours prior to liftoff. Electrons nine Rutherford engines are seen during the ElaNa XIX launch. (Credit: Brady Kenniston for NSF/L2)

At T-2 hours and 30 minutes, Rocket Lab site personnel will leave the pad for the safe locations where they will remain until after launch. The launch vehicles oxidizer tanks will then be filled with LOX, beginning at the T-2 hour mark.

At the same point in the countdown, marine safety zones will be activated to ensure ships do not enter hazard areas around the launch site and further downrange. Other safety zones, including airspace restrictions, will be activated 30 minutes prior to launch.

Launch controllers in Rocket Labs mission control center, located in
Auckland, will conduct a Go/No Go poll to proceed with the launch at the T-18 minute mark in the countdown.

The next major milestone in the countdown will then be the start of the
launch autosequence two minutes prior to liftoff. When this event occurs, the onboard computers on Electron will take control of the launch sequence.

At T-2 seconds, the nine Rutherford engines on Electrons first stage will ignite. This will be followed by liftoff from LC-1A at T0. After launch, Electron will roll to the proper launch azimuth to take the vehicle and its payloads to the desired orbital inclination. Electron will travel to the southeast as it heads downrange from the Mahia peninsula.

At T+2 minutes and 29 seconds, the first stage engines will shut down, a milestone in the launch known as main engine cut-off (MECO). Three seconds later, the first and second stages will separate, with a pneumatic pusher driving them apart. Engineers pose next to Electrons payload fairing, containing the BlackSky satellites. (Credit: Rocket Lab)

Two minutes and 36 seconds after liftoff, the single vacuum-optimized Rutherford engine on the second stage will ignite. Shortly afterward, at the three-minute, 11-second mark in the mission, the rockets payload fairing will separate. Located at the nose of the second stage, the fairing protects the satellites during the early stages of flight. The fairing separation system includes a pneumatic unlocking system that separates the fairing into two halves and springs that will push the two fairing halves away from the
rocket.

Electron will conduct its battery hot-swap at T+6 minutes 55 seconds. By this point in the flight, two of the batteries that power the second stage engines electric fuel pumps will have been depleted and will separate from the bottom of the second stage. A third battery onboard the stage will continue to provide power for the rest of the mission.

Electron will reach orbit nine minutes and 37 seconds after launch, shutting down its second stage engine. Eight seconds later, the kick stage will separate from the second stage. This will be responsible for inserting the BlackSky satellites into their planned orbit.

Following separation, the kick stage will enter into a coast period until the ignition of its single Curie engine at T+51 minutes and 10 seconds. This will burn for one minute and 42 seconds. Around an hour after lifting off from LC-1A, both BlackSky satellites will separate from the kick stage to begin their missions.

(Featured image: The Electron rocket for Without Mission A Beat completes a wet dress rehearsal prior to launch. Credit: Rocket Lab)

The post Rocket Labs Electron to launch two BlackSky satellites on 25th mission appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/04/electron-blacksky-25th-mission/


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