The ‘Coming To A Storm Near You’ launch was the
second of two dedicated Electron launches to deploy a constellation
of hurricane monitoring satellites for NASA
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the
Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today
successfully completed the second of two dedicated Electron
launches to deploy a constellation of tropical cyclone monitoring
satellites for NASA.
The Coming To A Storm Near You launch lifted-off on May 26 at
15:46 NZST (03:46 UTC) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New
Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula, deploying the final two CubeSats of
NASA’s TROPICS constellation (Time-Resolved Observations of
Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of
Smallsats) to orbit. ‘Coming To A Storm Near You’ is Rocket Lab’s
second of two TROPICS launches for NASA, following the first launch
on May 8th NZST. Like the previous launch, ‘Coming To A Storm Near
You’ deployed a pair of shoebox-sized satellites to low Earth orbit
to collect tropical storm data more frequently than other weather
satellites. The constellation aims to help increase understanding
of deadly storms and improve tropical cyclone forecasts
The TROPICS CubeSats required launch to a specific orbit at an
altitude of 550 kilometers and inclination of about 30 degrees,
with all four satellites needing to be deployed into their
operational orbit within a 60-day period ahead. Rocket Lab has now
launched all four satellites across two dedicated launches within
18 days, enabling the TROPICS satellites to settle into their
orbits and begin commissioning ahead of the 2023 North American
storm season which begins in June. While the TROPICS launches were
Rocket Lab’s 36th and 37th launches, they were unique from most of
the Company’s other missions to low Earth orbit due to the 30
degree inclination requirement. To reach such a low inclination
from Launch Complex 1, Rocket Lab used Electron’s second stage to
place the Kick Stage and TROPICS satellites into a circular orbit,
and the Kick Stage’s Curie engine carried out a plane change
maneuver to position the TROPICS satellites at 30 degrees.
“Electron was developed for exactly these kids of missions – to
deploy spacecraft reliably and on rapid timelines to precise and
bespoke orbits, so we’re proud to have delivered that for NASA
across both TROPICS launches and meet the deadline for getting
TROPICS to orbit in time for the 2023 storm season,” said Rocket
Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “Thank you to the team at NASA for
entrusting us with such an important science mission, we’re
grateful to be your mission launch providers once again.”
"We needed multiple launches for this mission," said Dr. Will
McCarty, program scientist, NASA's Earth Science Division. "Rocket
Lab provided the ability to have the TROPICS CubeSats serve as that
primary payload and thus define the orbit based on our scientific
objectives."
‘Coming To A Storm Near You’ was Rocket Lab’s fifth mission for
2023 and the Company’s 37th Electron mission overall. It brings the
total number of satellites launched to orbit by Rocket Lab to
163.
Follow Rocket Lab on Twitter @RocketLab for real-time updates on
upcoming missions.
About Rocket Lab
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with
an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable
launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and
on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier and more
affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach,
California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small
orbital launch vehicle, the Photon satellite platform and the
Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for
constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January
2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second
most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 163
satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations,
enabling operations in national security, scientific research,
space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and
communications. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been
selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as
the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three
launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a
private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a third pad
in Virginia. To learn more, visit www.rocketlabusa.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts,
contained in this press release, including statements regarding any
expectations of financial results, strategy, future operations,
future financial position, projected costs, prospects, plans and
objectives of management, are forward-looking statements. Words
such as, but not limited to, “anticipate,” “aim,” “believe,”
“contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “design,” “estimate,” “expect,”
“intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,”
“predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “suggest,” “strategy,”
“target,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions or phrases, or
the negative of those expressions or phrases, are intended to
identify forward-looking statements, although not all
forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These
forward-looking statements are based on Rocket Lab’s current
expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their
potential effects. These forward-looking statements involve a
number of risks, uncertainties (many of which are beyond Rocket
Lab’s control), or other assumptions that may cause actual results
or performance to be materially different from those expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements. Many factors could
cause actual future events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements in this release, including risks related
to our dependence on a limited number of customers; the harsh and
unpredictable environment of space in which our products operate
which could adversely affect our launch vehicle and spacecraft;
increased congestion from the proliferation of low Earth orbit
constellations which could materially increase the risk of
potential collision with space debris or another spacecraft and
limit or impair our launch flexibility and/or access to our own
orbital slots; increased competition in our industry due in part to
rapid technological development and decreasing costs; technological
change in our industry which we may not be able to keep up with or
which may render our services uncompetitive; average selling price
trends; failure of our launch vehicles, spacecraft and components
to operate as intended either due to our error in design in
production or through no fault of our own; launch schedule
disruptions; supply chain disruptions, product delays or failures;
design and engineering flaws; launch failures; natural disasters
and epidemics or pandemics; changes in governmental regulations
including with respect to trade and export restrictions, or in the
status of our regulatory approvals or applications; or other events
that force us to cancel or reschedule launches, including customer
contractual rescheduling and termination rights; risks that
acquisitions do not achieve the anticipated benefits and results;
and the other risks detailed from time to time in Rocket Lab’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”),
including under the heading “Risk Factors” in Rocket Lab’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022,
which was filed with the SEC on March 7, 2023, and elsewhere. There
can be no assurance that the future developments affecting Rocket
Lab will be those that we have anticipated. Except as required by
law, Rocket Lab is not undertaking any obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230525005935/en/
Rocket Lab Media Contact Murielle Baker
media@rocketlabusa.com
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