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 | |

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| | 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 | |

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| | 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.