Rocket Lab's "Electron" Rocket Fails to Reach Orbit after Unexpected Engine Shutdown
takyon writes:
Rocket Lab's Electron rocket suffers failure, loses payload of two satellites
Rocket Lab's Electron rocket failed to reach orbit after suffering an unexpected engine shutdown mid-flight on Saturday, losing the mission's payload of two satellites, the company said. The launch from New Zealand was Electron's 20th, and marked the company's second mission failure in less than a year.
Electron, a roughly six-story tall rocket with two booster stages, lifted off from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand at 7:11AM ET on Saturday, aiming to send a pair of Earth observation satellites for BlackSky into orbit. Two and a half minutes into flight, the rocket's second stage booster successfully separated from its first stage and ignited for a few seconds before shutting down, indicating a problem as seen on the company's launch live stream. Mission control lost telemetry of the booster shortly after.
"An issue was experienced during today's launch, resulting in the loss of the mission," Rocket Lab tweeted after the failure. "We are deeply sorry to our launch customers BlackSky and Spaceflight. The issue occurred shortly after stage two ignition. More information will be provided as it becomes available."
A secondary objective for the mission, dubbed "Running Out Of Toes," involved a test of some hardware upgrades meant to improve Electron's reusability, including a new heat shield for the booster's reentry. The rocket's first stage booster successfully splashed down in the ocean under parachutes as planned after lofting the second stage toward space, Rocket Lab said in a statement.
Also at TechCrunch.
Previously: After a Second Stage Failure, Rocket Lab Loses Seven Satellites
Rocket Lab Will Resume Missions in August Following Launch Failure
Rocket Lab Plans to Go Public, Announces Much Larger "Neutron" Rocket
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