Rocket Lab Launcher

View: https://twitter.com/peter_j_beck/status/1836553721708237055


Just an abort triggered by a piece of ground support equipment not reaching its target in the allocated time. We like everything on the ground to be just as happy as everything in the sky.
View: https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1836554238367010854


Mission update: In today’s launch attempt for @KineisIoT during ignition at T-0, Electron’s flight computer aborted on a ground systems sensor trigger and safely shut down the engines. Electron, the launch pad, and Kineis’ payload all remain healthy. Standby for info on our next launch attempt.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1IqkY_ML_E
 

Rocket Lab Awarded NASA Study Contract to Explore Bringing Rock Samples from Mars to Earth for the First Time
The study proposes using Rocket Lab’s vertically integrated technologies to retrieve samples from the Red Planet for the first time in history as part of NASA’s Mars Sample Return Program.
 
Rocket Lab Signs Multi-Launch Contract for Neutron with Confidential Commercial Satellite Constellation Operator

 
The Space Bucket has put out a video concerning rocket Lab's efforts to recover, refurbish and reuse the Electron rocket's first-stage:


Over the past few years, we’ve seen Rocket Lab continue to make progress toward reusing the Electron rocket’s first stage. Over time this strategy has changed quite a bit from initial helicopter catch attempts to a controlled splashdown and refurbishment.
That being said, it seems we are hearing much less about this process as the company makes a push toward Neutron development, their larger and more advanced, partially reusable launch vehicle.
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:29 - Electron Reuse
3:45 - Changing Plans
 
Rocket Lab's upcoming Neutron rocket launcher is already securing launch orders and has yet to liftoff, from the Space Bucket:


Rocket Lab’s new launch vehicle Neutron is already starting to secure some significant launch contracts both with the government and different commercial companies. This includes a new announcement from the company only days ago outlining a multi-launch agreement set to occur in 2026.
At the same time, we are continuing to get the occasional update on actual launch progress including recent work on the medium-lift launch vehicle’s new 165-ton launch mount.
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:28 - Progress & Contracts
4:05 - Neutron's Timeline
 
Mission Success for Rocket Lab’s Latest Suborbital Hypersonic Launch
12/09/2024

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it successfully launched a suborbital mission in November to test hypersonic technology for the Department of Defense.

This mission provided hypersonic test launch capabilities under the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB) project, which aims to increase hypersonic flight testing for the United States in support of technology maturation. The project was awarded by Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane through the Strategic and Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S2MARTS) Other Transaction Authority (OTA) vehicle on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center (TRMC).

George Rumford, Director of the TRMC, states: “Leveraging commercial launch services allows our Nation to affordably test components early and frequently, accelerating hypersonic development.”

Rocket Lab’s test platform showcased a new suite of cutting-edge technologies optimized for hypersonic technology tests with vastly increased payloads. Rocket Lab also designed, manufactured, assembled, and integrated the experimental hypersonic instrumentation which was launched on this mission, but on a highly accelerated timeline.

[...]


 
Rocket Lab presented there Mars Sample Return Mission

It will be Three Launches with Neutron rockets with:
Mars communication orbiter
Mars Lander with ascent stage
Earth Return Orbiter

the Mars Lander will touchdown near the Perseverance Rover
who give the Samples to lander what put them in ascent stage
in Mars Orbit the Ascent stage dock with Earth Return Orbiter

RocketLab give as mission time 2028-32
and Cost of 2 to 4 billion dollar (note original NASA plan cost 12 billion dollar)

GgwB-EaawAAi1C8


Source X and
 
Barbed wire fencing around the water tower...anti-tamperimg ant-sniper?
i think the Barbed wire fencing around the water tower prevent instalment of Cameras on it,
by NASA Spaceflight Forum, Everyday Astronaut, LabPadre, What about it!? etc.
possibly also Anti Aircraft gun on top of water tower against fly over by RGV...
 
Mission Success for Rocket Lab’s Latest Suborbital Hypersonic Launch
12/09/2024

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it successfully launched a suborbital mission in November to test hypersonic technology for the Department of Defense.
 

59th Launch:

View: https://x.com/RocketLab/status/1888345890831888713

View: https://x.com/RocketLab/status/1888328406426935315
 
Last edited:
View: https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1895221410022465549


Neutron’s Hungry Hippo fairing is alive.

These two halves remain attached to Neutron’s first stage, opening up to let the second stage and payload through, before closing up again and landing back on Earth ready for reuse.

Rocket Lab Linkedin

Meet Return On Investment, Neutron’s 400ft landing vessel. It’s currently undergoing customization to support return to Earth missions.

Neutron is scheduled to debut this year, with Return On Investment expected to enter service in 2026.
 
Were there hungry hippo type clamshells proposed to cover engine bells during re-entry?
 


Rocket Lab will launch a HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) mission for a confidential customer from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in 2024.

Rocket Lab’s HASTE suborbital launch vehicle is derived from the Company’s workhorse Electron rocket – the world’s most frequently launched commercial small launch vehicle. Leveraging Electron’s deep flight heritage, HASTE offers true commercial testing capability on rapid schedules and at a fraction of the cost of current full-scale tests. Tailored specifically for suborbital and hypersonic test flight capability, HASTE has a modified Kick Stage, a larger payload capacity of up to 700 kg / 1,540 lbs, and options for tailored fairings to accommodate larger payloads.

HASTE is operated under Rocket Lab National Security (RLNS), the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary created to serve the unique needs of the U.S. defense and intelligence community and its allies.
 
Space Systems Command On-Ramps Two New Providers to National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 Contract [Mar 27]

The U.S. Space Force (USSF’s) Space Systems Command (SSC) awarded Firm Fixed-Price (FFP), Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 contracts to Rocket Lab USA, Inc. and Stoke Space, joining Blue Origin, SpaceX and ULA who were on-ramped to Lane 1 last year.

“With today’s award, the Space Force expanded our portfolio of launch systems able to deliver critical space capability. These new partners bring innovative approaches and increased competition to our mission area,” explained Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, USSF program executive officer for Assured Access to Space. “Our Lane 1 goal is to bring in new partners to increase capacity, resiliency, and speed.”

Rocket Lab and Stoke Space will each receive a $5 million FFP Task Order to conduct an initial capabilities assessment and develop their approach to tailored mission assurance. Tailored mission assurance is a tiered approach to the government’s breadth and depth of the launch vehicle baseline understanding and the associated risks to the mission.

“We are excited to bring on new launch providers to the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 contract and I’m extremely proud of the team’s hard work on-ramping Rocket Lab and Stoke Space as soon as they were ready,” said Lt. Col. Douglas Downs, SSC’s materiel leader for Space Launch Procurement. “We climbed a tall mountain to execute this source selection quickly, and we’re not done yet. We look forward to on-ramping more emerging companies over the next few years as their systems become ready.”

The next opportunity for providers to on-ramp their emerging systems to the Lane 1 IDIQ contract will occur in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026.
“Once Rocket Lab and Stoke Space complete their first successful launch, they will be eligible to compete for launch service task orders on Lane 1,” Downs added. “We will release Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for additional Lane 1 launch services later this spring, and we also have several more missions we will compete in FY26.”

View: https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1905391307457180048


Rocket Lab’s Neutron Rocket On-Ramped to U.S. Space Force’s $5.6b National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program

With Neutron’s first launch scheduled for the second half of the year, Rocket Lab met the program’s eligibility requirements to be selected to compete for the NSSL program, and upon a successful flight on Neutron, will be eligible to further compete for individual task orders awarded within the NSSL program. Neutron’s debut launch from Launch Complex 3 in Wallops Island, Virginia, will be the first launch vehicle to support the NSSL program from the region.

As one of only five launch providers selected for the Department of Defense’s program, eligibility for NSSL Lane 1 includes stringent requirements that aim to develop a diversified, competitive and reliable domestic launch base to provide launch services for its highest-priority national security missions. The program plans to award a minimum of 30 missions within its contracting period through to 2029, with the potential for an extension through to 2034. As part of the on-ramp to the NSSL program, Rocket Lab receives a $5 million task order to perform a capabilities assessment that demonstrates the Company’s tailored approach to mission assurance for launches awarded through the NSSL program.

Rocket Lab Founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: “Supporting assured access to space for the nation’s most important missions has always been the goal with our Neutron rocket, and we’re incredibly proud to selected by the U.S. Space Force to demonstrate this commitment for the NSSL. Neutron is a powerful new launch option that will set a new standard for performance, affordability, and reliability in medium launch, and its selection to the program demonstrates a high degree of confidence by the Department of Defense in Neutron’s capabilities ahead of its first launch later this year. We can’t wait to showcase Neutron as the important platform it will become for the Department of Defense.”
 
View: https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1907183664670421413


Milestone reached on the road to Neutron's first launch Stage 2 qualification is now complete, proving out the stage's design, operations, and readiness for flight.

Neutron's Stage 2 is a novel concept. Unlike most rockets, the 13m Stage 2 hangs inside Neutron's Stage 1 from the top of the tank, rather than being supported from the bottom of the tank, enabling a very lightweight structure. When Neutron's Stage 1 fairing opens in space, Stage 2 is expelled from within before lighting up its Archimedes engine to deliver the payload to orbit.

Stage 2's qualification campaign tests have included:
✔ 1,300,000+ pounds of force in tension load applied to the carbon composite structure
✔ flight-like operations combining flight software, avionics, GNC systems, & more performed in cryogenic conditions
✔ pressurization and proof testing at 125% maximum operating pressure and mechanical loads
 
Rocket Lab Onramped To Multi-Billion Dollar U.S. and U.K. Defense Contracts To Expand Hypersonic Technology Development with HASTE [Apr 14]

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. today announced it has been selected to provide hypersonic test launch capability with its HASTE launch vehicle, engineering expertise, and other services through its participation in two multi-billion dollar government development programs for the United States and the United Kingdom.

Rocket Lab has been selected by the U.S. Air Force to participate within its Enterprise-Wide Agile Acquisition Contract (EWAAC), a $46 billion indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract designed for the rapid acquisition of innovative technologies, engineering services, and technical solutions that develop the Air Force’s new capabilities. The program has a contracting period through to 2031 and is designed to be broad in scope, flexible in funding, and agile for maximum use to enable the Air Force to quickly procure services and technologies across various domains.

Further, Rocket Lab has also been selected by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (UK MOD) for its Hypersonic Technologies & Capability Development Framework (HTCDF), a ~$1.3 billion (£1 billion) framework to rapidly develop advanced hypersonic capabilities for the United Kingdom. As a newly-selected supplier to the HTCDF, Rocket Lab is now eligible to bid to provide services, technologies, and testing capabilities that support the UK’s development of sovereign hypersonic technology.

Across both programs, Rocket Lab intends to bid for contracts and task orders served by its Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) launch vehicle, as well as other engineering, design, and launch services. A suborbital variant of Electron - the world’s most frequently launched small orbital rocket - HASTE includes much of the same innovative technology as Electron, including carbon fiber composite structures and 3D printed rocket engines, but has a modified upper Kick Stage tailored for hypersonic technology tests and a larger payload capacity of up to 700 kg / 1,540 lbs. HASTE can deploy technologies at speeds of more than 7.5km per second to test air-breathing, glide, and ballistic payloads, as well as technologies to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere from space. Successful missions to date include three launches for the U.S. Department of Defense – including twice within just 21 days – from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 2 launch site located on Wallops Island, Virginia. Combined, Rocket Lab’s HASTE and Electron launch vehicles have deployed 200+ payloads from its United States and New Zealand launch sites to date.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: “The ability to contribute toward the collective security of the United States and the United Kingdom across both of these important programs is a proud moment for the HASTE team, and a demonstration of Rocket Lab’s commitment to lead from the front when it comes to innovative and unique solutions for hypersonic technology development. Keeping pace with global developments means more affordable tests at a higher rate that expands the boundaries of hypersonic technology - and that’s a capability we’re already providing all in one platform with HASTE, at a commercial price and cadence that serves the mission of both nations.”
 

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