A potential new way to travel through space launched aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 located on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula.

The mission, named “Beginning of the Swarm,” put two payloads into a Sun-synchronous orbit. The flight lifted off at 22:32 UTC on April 23, 2024.

One of the two payloads aboard the mission is NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3). The goal is to test a new composite that can be folded up inside something as small as a CubeSat and still deploy and remain rigid once in space.

For this test, the solar sail is designed to fit inside a 12-unit (12U) CubeSat, which measures approximately 23 by 23 by 34 centimeters (9 by 9 by 13 inches). This is comparable to the size of a microwave.

A solar sail involves deploying a large metallic sheet that acts like the sail on a sailboat. Similar to a boat, it uses a boom to extend the sails. Rather than using chemical or electrical propulsion, these sails use sunlight and solar wind to help push a spacecraft or satellite.

For this mission, flying the sail is objective number two. The first objective is to unfold the entire sail in approximately 25 minutes and see how well it holds up.

Once unfurled, the square-shaped sail will measure approximately 9 meters (30 feet) per side.

Beginning Of The Swarm

Well folks, it's time for the 5th Rocket Lab launch of the year!

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-04-23 22:32 | |

|

| | Scheduled for (NZDT) | 2024-04-24 10:32 | | Launch site | Rocket Lab LC-1B, Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand | | Booster recovery | No | | Launch vehicle | Electron + Curie | | Customers | NASA, KAIST | | Payloads | ACS3, NeonSat-1 | | Mission success criteria | Successful deployment of spacecraft into Sun-Synchronous Orbit |

Livestreams

| Stream | Link | |

|

| | Rocket Lab (official) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9izutzETw1U | Everyday Astronaut | | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RsjdotByms | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui5seaIDzMQ

Stats

• This will be the 5th launch for Rocket Lab this year.
• This will be the 47th overall launch for Rocket Lab.

Payload info:

Rocket Lab mission page

NextSpaceflight:

ACS3

NASA’s ACS3 technology demonstration uses composite materials - or a combination of materials with different properties, in its novel, lightweight booms that deploy from a CubeSat to support a solar sail. Just as a sailboat is powered by wind in a sail, solar sails employ the pressure of sunlight for propulsion, eliminating the need for conventional rocket propellant. Data obtained from the ACS3 demonstration will guide the design of future larger-scale composite solar sail systems that could be used for space weather early warning satellites, near-Earth asteroid reconnaissance missions, or communications relays for crewed exploration missions.

NeonSat-1

NeonSat-1 is a high-resolution optical satellite that will be deployed as a technology demonstration for a planned future Earth observation constellation. KAIST is Korea’s leading science and technology institution, having developed and operated Korea’s very first satellite KAIST when it was successfully launched more than 30 years ago.

Previous mission (Live and Let Fly (NROL-123)) | Next mission (Ready, Aim, PREFIRE)

Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here! Also feel free to leave feedback or suggestions for the mod team. We’re a brand new community, so feedback is very valuable!

Link to tweet.

The way to compete against SpaceX, Beck said, “is to outsmart them and outwork them. You have to be the mosquito, that is for sure. And you have to be very agile. … The crazy thing about a mosquito is that it’s kind of annoying, but there’s a nonzero chance that you might get bit, get malaria and die,” he said.

Full article

Full article non-paywall

Live and Let Fly (NROL-123)

Well folks, it's time for another Rocket Lab launch, and the first launch out of Wallops this year!

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-03-21 06:40 | |

|

| | Scheduled for (local, EDT) | 2024-03-21 02:40 | | Scheduled for (NZDT) | 2024-03-21 19:40 | | Launch site | Rocket Lab LC-2, Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA | | Booster recovery | No | | Launch vehicle | Electron + Curie | | Customer | USA National Reconnaissance Agency | | Payload | NROL-123 | | Mission success criteria | Successful deployment of spacecraft into Earth Orbit |

Livestreams

| Stream | Link | |

|

| | Rocket Lab (official) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coa3GZtotQo | Everyday Astronaut | | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akOkDFQibLs | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2yUpimXf8k

Stats

• This will be the 4th launch for Rocket Lab this year.
• This will be the 46th overall launch for Rocket Lab.

Payload info:

Rocket Lab mission page

NextSpaceflight:

NROL-123 is a classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Agency.

Previous mission (Owl Night Long) | Next mission (NeonSat-1 & ACS3)

Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here! Also feel free to leave feedback or suggestions for the mod team. We’re a brand new community, so feedback is very valuable!

https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1769840689737855447

Neutron’s launch site is taking shape.

While we’re gearing up for the next Electron launch from @NASAWallops in the coming days, here’s what the Neutron team have been up to on the new pad right next door.

https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1769841445010329698

Concrete is flowing fast on the launch mount, a dedicated new pad for Neutron designed to enable rapid turnaround between missions.

https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1769841701693358489

Just a 5-minute drive from the pad, the Neutron Integration Facility is under construction. It’s from this facility that completed Neutron rockets will roll out to the pad before taking to the skies.

Owl Night Long

Well folks, it's time for another Rocket Lab launch, and the first launch thread in this new community!

| Scheduled for UTC | 2024-03-12 15:03 | |

|

| | Scheduled for (local) | 2024-03-13 04:03 (NZDT) | | Launch site | LC-1B, Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand. | | Booster recovery | No | | Launch vehicle | Electron + Curie | | Customer | Synspective | | Payload | StriX-3 (100 kg) | | Mission success criteria | Successful deployment of spacecraft into Sun-Synchronous Orbit |

Livestreams

| Stream | Link | |

|

| | Rocket Lab (official) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF9cWWkSlsQ | Everyday Astronaut | | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gclLUKCSbdM | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRz-JX97NP4

Stats

• This will be the 3rd launch for Rocket Lab this year.
• This will be the 45th overall launch for Rocket Lab.

Payload info:

Rocket Lab mission page

NextSpaceflight:

This is the third of a bulk buy of three Electron launches by Synspective to deliver their StriX satellites to low Earth orbit. StriX satellites can collect data with a ground resolution of 1-3m and a swath width of more than 10-30km. Each Electron launch will deliver 1 StriX satellite into orbit.

Previous mission (On Closer Inspection) | Next mission (Live and Let Fly (NROL-123))

Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here! Also feel free to leave feedback or suggestions for the mod team. We’re a brand new community, so feedback is very valuable!

Rocket Lab is giving their various spacecraft platforms unique names, rather than calling them all "Photon".

• Photon: The basic kick-stage + power, propulsion, and communications.
• Explorer: Optimized for lunar and interplanetary missions.
• Pioneer: Capable of re-entry and payload return to Earth.
• Lightning: Optimized for long-term communications and sensing in LEO.

This is a community to discuss all things Rocket Lab, the US/New Zealand aerospace company. Thanks to Dave for polling the community and setting things up!

Here are some Rocket Lab facts:

• The company was founded in 2006 in New Zealand. In 2013, they moved their registration to the U.S. for funding/growth reasons, and now operate launch pads and manufacturing facilities in both countries.
• Their workhorse launch vehicle is Electron, a two-stage kerolox rocket capable of delivering 300 kg to Low Earth Orbit.
• Electron is the first orbital rocket to use electric-pump-fed engines.
• They are developing a much larger launch vehicle called Neutron, which will be a methalox rocket capable of delivering 13 tonnes to LEO.
• The first launch of Neutron could happen by the end of this year.

Upcoming Electron launches:

• March 12th/13th: Owl Night Long, launching out of Launch Complex 1, Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand
• March 20th: Live and Let Fly, launching out of Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
• NET April: NeonSat-1 & ACS3, launching out of Launch Complex 1, Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand

I'll create dedicated launch threads with more info for each as we get closer.

Big thanks again to Dave for setting this up. Looking forward to growing this community! Suggestions and feedback are welcome!

Edit: Thanks also to absGeekNZ for volunteering to co-moderate this community.