Rocket Lab Launches 109th Satellite to Orbit
December 08 2021 - 9:19PM
Business Wire
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB), a leading launch and space
systems company, has successfully deployed two satellites to orbit
for real-time geospatial intelligence company BlackSky (NYSE:
BKSY), bringing the total number of satellites deployed by Rocket
Lab to 109.
The ‘A Data With Destiny’ mission, arranged for BlackSky through
global launch services provider Spaceflight Inc., was Electron’s
23rd liftoff from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s
Mahia Peninsula. Following liftoff at 00:02 UTC, December 09 2021,
Electron successfully delivered the two BlackSky Gen-2
Earth-imaging satellites to a circular 430km orbit, growing
BlackSky’s constellation of real-time geospatial monitoring
spacecraft to 12. BlackSky’s commissioning process for these
satellites is now underway to bring them into service as quickly as
possible, with the last pair of BlackSky satellites deployed by
Rocket Lab beginning commercial operation and generating revenue
within six days of launch.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck, says: “Congratulations
and welcome to space once again, BlackSky. These back-to-back
missions are a showcase of the benefits of rapid-launch in action:
quick constellation expansion, streamlined access to space, and
fast delivery of global insights to BlackSky customers that Rocket
Lab is proud to facilitate with dedicated launch on Electron.”
The ‘A Data With Destiny’ mission is the latest launch for
BlackSky as part of a multi-launch agreement with Spaceflight to
deploy numerous BlackSky satellites on Electron. Rocket Lab has now
deployed seven satellites to low Earth orbit for BlackSky on
missions across 2019 and this year. Another two BlackSky satellites
are scheduled for launch early next year on Electron from Rocket
Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Today’s successfully deployed
satellites, along with those previously launched to space by Rocket
Lab and the remaining pair of satellites next in line, represent
the largest number of satellites BlackSky has dedicated to a single
launch provider to date.
‘A Data With Destiny’ is Rocket Lab’s final launch for 2021,
capping off a busy year for the company. With the successful
deployment of spacecraft for government and commercial customers,
Rocket Lab launches this year supported operations in Earth
observation, weather monitoring, and Internet-of-Things, and
enabled technology demonstrations in maritime surveillance, quantum
computing, advanced AI, communications, and deployable sensors. The
successful deployment of another Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft to
space earlier this year is also representative of the company’s
growth in space systems, including several strategic acquisitions
that will bolster future Rocket Lab missions to the Moon, Mars, and
Venus and further enable Rocket Lab to streamline access to space
for satellites as an end-to-end space company. The next year for
Rocket Lab includes a busy manifest of Electron launches for new
and repeat satellite customers, and ongoing development of its
next-generation launch vehicle Neutron, tailored for
mega-constellation deployment, interplanetary missions, and
eventually human spaceflight.
+ Images and video content
www.rocketlabusa.com/about-us/updates/link-to-rocket-lab-imagery-and-video/
+ About Rocket Lab
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with
an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable
launch services, spacecraft components, satellites and other
spacecraft and on-orbit management solutions that make it faster,
easier and more affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long
Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron
small orbital launch vehicle and the Photon satellite platform and
is developing the Neutron 8-ton payload class launch vehicle. Since
its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron
launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S.
rocket annually and has delivered 109 satellites to orbit for
private and public sector organizations, enabling operations in
national security, scientific research, space debris mitigation,
Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Rocket
Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been selected to support NASA
missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private
commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three launch pads at
two launch sites, including two launch pads at a private orbital
launch site located in New Zealand, one of which is currently
operational, and a second launch site in Virginia, USA which is
expected to become operational in early 2022. To learn more, visit
www.rocketlabusa.com.
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+ Rocket Lab Media Contact Murielle Baker media@rocketlabusa.com
+64 27 538 9040
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