NorthStar 3

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Space Situational Awareness

Low Earth Orbit Unknown Pad Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Four space situational awareness (SSA) satellites for Canadian company NorthStar Earth and Space.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 9, 2025, 4:27 p.m.

Pushed into 2020s TBD due to satellite operator and manufacturer getting into court case on contract delivery details and problems with the first 4 satellites.


Nosu • June 22, 2023, 6:21 a.m.

Adding launch NET 2024


Electron

Family:
Configuration:

Electron is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle (with an optional third stage) developed by the American aerospace company Rocket Lab. Electron is a small-lift launch vehicle designed to launch small satellites and cubesats to sun-synchronous orbit and low earth orbit. The Electron is the first orbital class rocket to use electric-pump-fed engines, powered by the 9 Rutherford engines on the first stage. It is also used as a suborbital testbed (called HASTE) for hypersonics research.

See Details
Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    2
  • Max Stage
    3
  • Length
    18.0 m
  • Diameter
    1.2 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    1.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    13.0 T
  • Thrust
    162.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Electron
  • Family
    ―
  • Variant
    ―
  • Alias
    ―
  • Full Name
    Electron
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $6000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    300.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    ―
  • Direct Geostationary
    ―
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    225.0 kg

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab

(RL)

CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 93 Failures: 4 Pending: 61

Agency Type:

Rocket Lab is an American aerospace manufacturer with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. The company develops lightweight, cost-effective commercial rocket launch services. The Electron Program was founded on the premise that small payloads such as CubeSats require dedicated small launch vehicles and flexibility not currently offered by traditional rocket systems. Its rocket, the Electron, is a light-weight rocket and is now operating commercially. The company is also producing a variety of spacecrafts and spacecrafts components.

INFO WIKI
SpaceNews

NorthStar pivots to Rocket Lab following Virgin Orbit’s collapse

Canada’s NorthStar Earth and Space has signed a multi-launch deal with Rocket Lab after Virgin Orbit’s bankruptcy shattered plans to start deploying its space situational awareness (SSA) satellites this summer.

The Launch Pad

NorthStar Signs Multi Launch Deal With RocketLab Following Virgin Orbit Collapse

Canada's NorthStar Earth and Space has signed a multi-launch deal with Rocket Lab, with the first four satellites set to be launched on an Electron rocket in the coming fall, following the collapse of there original launch partner, Virgin …

Arstechnica

Rocket Report: Electron scoops up Virgin launch, ULA flies first 2023 mission

"In microlaunchers that balance is on a knife’s edge."

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Unknown Pad


Falcon 9
Success
15 hours, 39 minutes ago
SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer A
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

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Long March 12
Success
1 day, 3 hours ago
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Commercial LC-2 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

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Nuri
Success
3 days, 19 hours ago
NeonSat-2 to 6
LC-2 - Naro Space Center, South Korea

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Falcon Heavy
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
NROL-97
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Classified payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Transporter 18 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Dedicated rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Crew-13
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

SpaceX Crew-13 is the thirteenth crewed operational flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercia…


Starship
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Starlink Group 31-1 (Starship Flight 14)
Orbital Launch Pad 2 - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

14th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. 3rd flight of Starship V3 and the first Starship flight to deploy satellites (a group of S…


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks ago
USSF-385
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bu…


Electron
Success
2 weeks ago
Owlright, Owlright, Owlright (StriX Launch 13)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.


Long March 6A
Success
2 weeks, 2 days ago
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Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 Chinese reconnaissance satellites of unknown purposes, officially reported as for "Electromagnetic environment probing".