Watch the Launch

Additional Media

They Go Up So Fast

Rocket Lab's 19th Electron mission will deploy a range of satellites for commercial and government satellite operators, as well as place a next-generation Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft in orbit to build spacecraft heritage ahead of Rocket Lab’s mission to the Moon for NASA later this year.

They Go Up So Fast (Rideshare)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Dedicated Rideshare

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

The Electron rocket will carry seven satellites to low Earth orbit: one Earth-observation satellite for BlackSky, two Internet-Of-Things (IoT) nanosatellites for companies Fleet Space and Myriota, a technology demonstration satellite for the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra Space, a weather satellite pathfinder technology demonstration from Care Weather technologies, a technology demonstrator for the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command as well as Rocket Lab’s in-house designed and built Photon Pathstone spacecraft which will operate on orbit as a risk reduction demonstration to build spacecraft heritage ahead of Rocket Lab’s mission to the Moon for NASA later this year.

Updates

SwGustav • March 23, 2021, 12:52 a.m.

Success confirmed


spacelaunchnowadmin • March 22, 2021, 11:27 p.m.

First five payloads successfully deployed per live webcast. One more burn before the final payload - about forty minutes from now.


Nosu • March 22, 2021, 5:13 p.m.

Adjusting T-0


Nosu • March 21, 2021, 6:18 p.m.

Launch is GO. Window opens on March 22 at 22:20 UTC.


Nosu • March 18, 2021, 2:35 p.m.

Launch expected on March 22. Precise T-0 not available yet.


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: 66 Failures: 4 Pending: 32

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

Related News

Spaceflight Now

Testbed for NASA moon mission rides to orbit with six other satellites

Rocket Lab launched seven satellites Monday from New Zealand on a rideshare mission serving the U.S. and Australian militaries and space services startups. A spacecraft developed in-house by Rocket Lab was also aboard to prove out technolo…

NASA Spaceflight

Rocket Lab launches Photon pathfinder on They Go Up So Fast

The 19th flight of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket, named They Go Up So Fast, lifted off on Monday, March 22 at 22:30 UTC. On board the mission were six customer satellites and an internal Photon pathfinder satellite named Pathstone, which wi…

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 4 hours ago
Cygnus CRS-2 NG-23 (S.S. William “Willie” C. McCool)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

This is the 23rd flight of the Northrop Grumman's uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its 22nd flight to the International Space Station under th…


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 8 hours ago
Starlink Group 17-10
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat
Success
5 days ago
Glonass-K1 No. 18 (Kosmos 2595) & Kosmos 2596
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Glonass-K1 are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite navigation system. GLONASS is a Russian space-based navigation system c…


Falcon 9
Success
6 days ago
Nusantara Lima
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Nusantara Lima is an Indonesian geostationary communications satellite with a capacity of more than 160 Gbps.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
6 days, 10 hours ago
Progress MS-32 (93P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer B
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Tranche 1 Transport Layer B is one of six missions by the United States Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Proliferated Warfighter Sp…


Long March 7A
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Yaogan 45
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.


Smart Dragon 3
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Geely Constellation Group 05
Oriental Spaceport mobile launch ship - Sea Launch

11 LEO communications satellites for Chinese car manufacturer Geely Automotive for testing autonomous driving/inter-vehicle communication services. T…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Starlink Group 17-9
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 6A
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Yaogan 40 Group 03
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".