posted 08-04-2020 11:58 AM               

Rocket Lab Increases Electron Payload Capacity, Enabling Interplanetary Missions and Reusability

Rocket Lab has released additional performance from its Rutherford engines, boosting the payload capacity on the Electron launch vehicle and Photon satellite bus

Rocket Lab, a satellite manufacturer and the global leader in dedicated small satellite launch, has today announced a major performance increase to the Electron launch vehicle, boosting the company's payload lift capacity up to 300 kg (660 lbs).

The increased payload mass capacity has primarily been made possible through advances in the battery technology that powers Rutherford's electric pumps. Since Rocket Lab's maiden launch in 2017, the Electron launch vehicle has boasted a payload lift capacity of 150 kg to 500 km to Sun- synchronous orbits (SSO), with a maximum lift capacity of 225 kg total to lower orbits. Thanks to the performance increase, Electron is now capable of lifting 200 kg to 500 km SSO and up to 300 kg to lower orbits.

The performance improvements make it possible to launch more payload to low Earth orbit (LEO), lunar, and interplanetary destinations on expendable Electron missions, while offsetting the additional mass of recovery systems added to Electron for missions slated for recovery and re-flight.

The increased performance also means that customers selecting Rocket Lab's Photon spacecraft as a satellite bus now have up to 180 kg (396 lbs) available as pure payload instrument mass, enabling more complex missions in LEO and beyond. With robust power systems, high-performance propulsion, secure data handling, and precise pointing and accuracy, Rocket Lab's family of LEO and interplanetary Photon buses offer customized spacecraft solutions to accommodate a wide range of small satellite missions.

"When we created Electron, we set out to develop a launch vehicle that small satellite operators would turn to when they needed a dedicated ride to a unique orbit on their schedule. We're proud to be delivering that capability and continuing to evolve our launch and satellite services to meet the market's ever-changing needs," said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's founder and CEO. "Electron remains right-sized for the small sat market, and releasing additional performance is about providing our customers with even more flexibility on the same proven vehicle they have come to rely on."

Rocket Lab has now launched 130 Rutherford engines to space and carried out more than 1,000 engine test fires on the ground, equipping engineers with the wealth of data and experience needed to deliver extra performance from the engines and their batteries.

About the Rutherford Engine

Weighing in at just 35 kilograms, Rocket Lab's Rutherford engines are the world's first 3D printed and electric pump-fed engines to be launched to space. Rocket Lab began development on Rutherford in 2013 and the first engine was test fired the same year, marking the beginning of a new generation in rocket propulsion.

Rutherford engines are used as first and second stage engines on the Electron launch vehicle. There are nine Rutherford engines on Electron's first stage and a single vacuum optimized version on the second stage. The sea level versions on Electron's first stage now produce 5,600 lbf of thrust (up from 5,500 lbf, with a specific impulse of 311 s (3.05 km/s). The vacuum optimized version operating on Electron's second stage now produces a max thrust of 5,800 lbf of thrust and has a specific impulse of 343 s (3.36 km/s).

Instead of being powered by traditional gas turbine pumps, Rutherford uses an entirely new propulsion cycle of brushless DC electric motors and high-performance lithium polymer batteries to drive its propellant pumps. This cuts down on much of the complex turbomachinery typically required for gas generator cycle engines, meaning that the Rutherford is simpler to build than a traditional engine but can achieve 90% efficiency.

The Rutherford engine's production scalability is facilitated by additively manufactured, or 3D printed, primary components. With a 3D printed combustion chamber, injectors, pumps, and main propellant valves, Rutherford has the most 3D printed components of any rocket engine in the world. These primary components can be printed in 24 hours, drastically reducing production timelines.

posted 05-15-2021 09:20 AM               

Rocket Lab Experiences Anomaly During Launch

Following a successful lift-off, first stage burn, and stage separation, Rocket Lab experienced an anomaly during its 20th Electron mission 'Running Out Of Toes.'

The issue occurred following second stage ignition during the flight on May 15, 2021 UTC, resulting in the loss of the mission. The launch vehicle's second stage remained within the predicted launch corridor and caused no harm to the public, Rocket Lab's launch or recovery crews, or the launch site. Electron's first stage safely completed a successful splashdown under parachute and Rocket Lab's recovery team is working to retrieve the stage from the ocean as planned.

Rocket Lab is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to investigate the anomaly and identify the root cause to correct the issue for future missions.

"We are deeply sorry to our customer BlackSky for the loss of their payloads. We understand the monumental effort that goes into every spacecraft and we feel their loss and disappointment. Our team is working hard to identify the issue, rectify it, and be safely back on the pad as soon as possible," said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and chief executive. "On one of our toughest days, our team operated with professionalism and worked swiftly to ensure the anomaly was managed safely. Our team is resilient, and our top priority remains to safely and reliably return to flight for our customers. We will learn from this, and we'll be back on the pad again."

Today's anomaly occurred after 17 successful orbital launches of the Electron launch vehicle. With multiple launch vehicles currently in production, Rocket Lab is prepared for a rapid return to flight as soon as investigations are complete and any required corrective actions are in place.

posted 07-19-2021 05:07 PM               

Rocket Lab Completes Anomaly Review, Next Mission on the Pad in July

Leading launch and space systems company Rocket Lab today announced it has concluded an extensive review into the cause of the anomaly that resulted in the loss of its "Running Out Of Toes" mission launched on May 15, 2021. With the root cause of the issue identified and corrective measures now in place, Electron will be back on the pad for the next mission from Launch Complex 1 later this month.

The May 15 anomaly occurred after 17 successful orbital flights of the Electron launch vehicle which has deployed more than 100 satellites to orbit since 2018. Immediately following the anomaly, Rocket Lab launched a rigorous internal review, assembling its investigation team with oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The investigation team scoured thousands of channels of telemetry and systems data from the flight and worked systematically through an extensive fault tree analysis to determine the cause of the failure.

The review concluded that an issue occurred within the second stage engine igniter system almost three minutes and 20 seconds into the flight. This induced a corruption of signals within the engine computer that caused the Rutherford engine's thrust vector control (TVC) to deviate outside nominal parameters and resulted in the engine computer commanding zero pump speed, shutting down the engine.

The igniter fault resulted from a previously undetectable failure mode within the ignition system that occurs under a unique set of environmental pressures and conditions. The issue was not evident during extensive pre-flight testing for this mission, including more than 400 seconds of burn for this particular engine, more than 1,500 Rutherford engine hot fires to date, and 17 successful orbital launches. Rocket Lab has since been able to reliably replicate the issue in testing and has implemented redundancies in the ignition system to prevent any future reoccurrence, including modifications to the igniter's design and manufacture.

The anomaly review confirmed that Electron's first stage performed flawlessly during the mission and did not contribute to the flight issue. As a result, Rocket Lab was able to conduct a successful reentry, ocean splashdown and recovery of the first stage as planned, marking a major milestone in the company's program to make Electron a reusable launch vehicle.

Satisfied with its own review of the May 15 launch, the FAA confirmed in June that Rocket Lab's launch license remains active. With corrective measures now in place, Rocket Lab is returning to the pad with an even more reliable launch vehicle to meet a busy launch schedule in the second half of 2021. Details of the next Electron mission will be made available in the coming days.

posted 07-29-2021 09:33 AM               

Rocket Lab Successfully Launches U.S. Space Force Mission

Rocket Lab, the leading launch provider and space systems company, has successfully launched a research and development satellite to orbit for the United States Space Force (USSF). The mission was Rocket Lab's fourth launch for the year and its 21st Electron mission overall.

The mission, named "It's a Little Chile Up Here," launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula at 06:00 UTC / 18:00 NZT on July 29th. A single Air Force Research Laboratory-sponsored demonstration satellite called Monolith was deployed to low Earth orbit by the Electron launch vehicle in Rocket Lab's second mission for the USSF. Monolith will demonstrate the use of a deployable sensor, where the sensor's mass is a substantial fraction of the total mass of the spacecraft, changing the spacecraft's dynamic properties and testing ability to maintain spacecraft attitude control. Analysis from the use of a deployable sensor aims to enable the use of smaller satellite buses when building future deployable sensors such as weather satellites, thereby reducing the cost, complexity, and development timelines.

The mission was procured by the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program (STP) and the Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP), both based at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.; in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) as part of the Rapid Agile Launch Initiative (RALI). The mission is being managed by the Launch Enterprise's Small Launch and Targets Division, which is part of the USSF's launch organization of choice. The mission has been named 'It's a Little Chile Up Here' in a nod to the beloved green chile of New Mexico where the Space Test Program is based.

"Congratulations to all the teams behind Monolith. We're proud to have safely delivered another mission to orbit for the United States Space Force," said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. "Programs like the Rapid Agile Launch Initiative are shining a light on the crucial role small launch can play in supporting fast-paced innovation in orbit to support innovation and space capabilities."