INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Rocket Lab has added another successful commercial launch to its track record: The rocket startup’s “As The Crow Flies” mission took
off today from its LC-1 launch site in New Zealand as planned
The rocket took off at 9:22 PM ET (6:22 PM PT), during its second launch opportunity of the day after the first window was pushed due to
high-altitude winds.This is the ninth Electron launch for the company thus far, and the eighth mission for a commercial customer (the first
was a test mission in 2017) since it began ferrying payloads for paying clients in 2018
Today’s launch carried a satellite called “Palisade” for client Astro Digital, which is a technology demonstrator that will test the
company’s next-generation geocommunications satellite design.This mission was a late-stage substitute, swapping in for another Rocket Lab
client that had to delay their own launch
Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck told TechCrunch that “Electron is a launch on demand service — we’re ready when the launch
customer is,” highlighting the flexibility of the launch service they offer to adapt to the needs of their customers.After successful
launch and kick-stage separation, the Astro Digital satellite now awaits its final deployment into its target orbit, which should happen in
We’ll update with the results of that maneuver.
