Rocket Report: Delta IV Heavy gets a new date, SpaceX to destroy test tank

Enlarge / Rocket Lab launches its "I Can't Believe It's Not Optical" mission on August 31. (credit: Rocket Lab)

Welcome to Edition 3.15 of the Rocket Report! The realm of small lift overflows with news in this edition. And as usual, our report covers news from around the world, spanning this week from Germany, to China, to India, to South America. Ours is a global enterprise.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Rocket Lab launches a Photon satellite. The launch company said it has sent its first in-house-designed and -built operational satellite into orbit. "First Light" was deployed to orbit on Rocket Lab's 14th Electron mission, "I Can't Believe It's Not Optical," which lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand on August 31. The mission's primary customer was a 100kg microsatellite for Capella Space.

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