This month, United States-based spaceflight startup Rocket Lab has successfully sent their Electron rocket into orbit for the first time. In addition to reaching orbit, the rocket also successfully deployed customer payload.
The successful test was conducted last Saturday, and the rocket successfully reached orbit at approximately 8:43 p.m. Eastern Time. The mission was considered complete when the Electron rocket deployed three commercial satellites into orbit.
Rocket Lab's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Black was surprised by the feat. He said that reaching orbit on the second test flight was "significant on its own," but successfully deploying payloads at such an early stage in testing was "almost unprecedented."
For the company, this means that they can soon take customer orders for launching payload into orbit. Rocket Lab is a company that aims to be the biggest provider of small rockets for entities that require such services.
Electron itself is a small rocket, a mere 55-foot vehicle compared to SpaceX's 180-foot Falcon 9. The Electron can also only carry approximately 500 pounds, while Falcon 9 can get 50,000 pounds into orbit.
However, there is a market for small rockets as space flight can be expensive. Usually, when companies want to deploy satellites into orbit, they wait for larger rockets to launch their payload and others hitch a ride to mitigate expenses. But this poses the problem of waiting for other companies to launch. Getting customers' payloads into obit this way also has a chance of bringing the satellites into a less-than-optimal location.
Rocket Lab can provide individual flights for small-scale satellites via the Electron Rocket. Flights can cost as low as $4.9 million.
As of this time, because of the successful testing, the company claims that they have a manifesto of potential customers. The list of potential customers includes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Spaceflight.
