Rocket Lab Successfully Launches 34th Electron Rocket, Second Mission from Virginia
March 16 2023 - 08:45PM
Business Wire
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the
Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today
announced it has successfully launched its 34th Electron rocket and
second mission from its launch site on Wallops Island, Virginia
deploying two spacecraft to low Earth orbit for Capella Space.
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Electron launches from Rocket Lab Complex
2 on Wallops Island, Virginia. (Photo: Business Wire)
The “Stronger Together” mission lifted off at 22:38 UTC, March
16 2023 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space’s
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight
Facility. Rocket Lab successfully deployed two 100-kg class Capella
Space satellites to low Earth orbit.
"Congratulations to Capella Space and well done to the Rocket
Lab team for another flawless launch from Virginia,” said Rocket
Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “This year we’re really picking up
the launch pace so while one Electron was on the pad at Launch
Complex 2 for Capella Space, the team in New Zealand has been
preparing the next rocket at Launch Complex 1 to enable two
launches from two continents within days of each other. Dedicated
and responsive space access for small sats is here now, made
possible by Electron.”
“Stronger Together” is Rocket Lab’s second mission from Launch
Complex 2, following the Company’s first mission from U.S. soil in
January 2023. Launch Complex 2 supplements Rocket Lab’s first
launch site, Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, from which the
Company has launched 32 Electron missions since 2017. Launch
Complex 2 was built to provide dependable and responsive launch
access for Rocket Lab’s U.S. government and commercial customers
and its own Mission Control Center, Integration and Control
Facility (ICF) with payload processing facilities and 100k class
cleanrooms, and a vehicle integration bay capable of processing
multiple Electron rockets at once to support rapid launches in
quick succession. Electron is already the most prolific dedicated
small launch vehicle globally and with Launch Complexes 1 and 2 now
fully operational, Rocket Lab can support up to 130 flight
opportunities every year.
Rocket Lab’s next scheduled mission is a dedicated launch for
Spaceflight Inc. customer BlackSky, a leading provider of real-time
geospatial intelligence and global monitoring services. The mission
is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand
during a launch window that opens in March 2023.
Other upcoming disclosed Electron missions in 2023 include two
launches for the NASA TROPICS constellation, the first of five
dedicated missions for Internet-of-Things (IoT) connectivity
provider Kinéis; several additional launches for Capella Space, and
the launch of a mission to demonstrate space debris removal
technology by Astroscale Japan.
+ Images & Video Content
F34 | Stronger Together https://bit.ly/3lg34vN
+ 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 and the Photon satellite platform and is
developing the Neutron launch vehicle for large spacecraft and
constellations. 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 157
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
launch pad in Virginia, USA. 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. 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 press release, including risks
related to the global COVID-19 pandemic; risks related to
government restrictions and lock-downs in New Zealand and other
countries in which we operate that could delay or suspend our
operations; delays and disruptions in expansion efforts; 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 may not be completed on the anticipated time frame or
at all or 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 February 28, 2023, and elsewhere (including
that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may also exacerbate the
risks discussed therein). 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/20230316005778/en/
+ Rocket Lab Media Contact Murielle Baker
media@rocketlabusa.com
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