Rocket Lab Executes 52nd Electron Mission for Capella Space

Rocket Lab Executes 52nd Electron Mission for Capella Space
by Simon Mansfield
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Aug 12, 2024

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) successfully completed its 52nd Electron rocket mission, deploying a satellite into low Earth orbit for Capella Space.

The mission, titled "A Sky Full of SARs," was named to highlight the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capabilities of Capella's spacecraft. The launch occurred at 01:18 AM New Zealand Standard Time on August 12th from Launch Complex 1, located on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula. The mission successfully placed Capella's latest third-generation SAR Acadia satellite into a mid-inclination orbit at an altitude of 615 km. Alongside the launch service, Rocket Lab provided a custom extended fairing to house the payload, which was later deployed into space via a Rocket Lab-manufactured separation system.

This marks the fifth launch Rocket Lab has conducted for Capella Space since their collaboration began in August 2020 with the mission "I Can't Believe It's Not Optical." That inaugural mission also launched from Launch Complex 1, deploying the first satellite in Capella's SAR constellation. Other successful missions include "Stronger Together," launched from Launch Complex 2 at Wallops Island, Virginia, in March 2023, and "We Love The Nightlife," launched from Launch Complex 1 in August 2023.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck commented: "Electron is a reliable constellation builder, providing precise and dedicated deployment to unique orbits that allows satellite operators like Capella to iteratively build out their constellation when and where they need to. I'm proud of the team for delivering this latest successful mission for Capella and for successfully delivering nine missions so far this year as Electron's launch cadence continues to ramp up. With many more missions scheduled in the coming weeks and months, we look forward to delivering our busiest launch year yet in 2024."

The launch window for Rocket Lab's next Electron mission will be announced soon. Recently, Rocket Lab secured a record ten-launch contract with Japanese Earth observation company Synspective, adding to the two launches already booked for Electron this year. Other satellite operators expected to launch this year include space-based intelligence company BlackSky and French Internet-of-Things (IoT) company Kineis.