After 32 flights from New Zealand, Rocket Lab's Electron flew into orbit over Virginia's Eastern Shore on Tuesday, Jan. 24. This marks the company's first-ever launch from US territory.
About 12 minutes after flight controllers gave their final go/no-go approval, the mission known as "Virginia is for Launch Lovers" officially began at 6 o'clock (2300 GMT), as reported first by Space.com.
This comes after a launch attempt on Dec. 18, 2022, had to be scrubbed due to strong upper atmosphere winds.
Today we successfully expanded our launch footprint with our first mission from U.S. soil.
— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) January 25, 2023
Thank you to the teams at @NASA_Wallops, @Virginia_Space, @FAANews and @hawkeye360 for helping to make that happen. We're just getting started 🚀 pic.twitter.com/sTwNJAIRyL
"Mission Success"
The rocket, which was 111 miles northwest of Washington, DC, continued to be visible through first-stage separation as it followed a route across the arms of the constellation Orion.
Rocket Lab tweeted that Electron's cargo of three radio-frequency Earth observation satellites from geo-analytics company HawkEye 360 had been successfully deployed around an hour and a half after launch.
The three satellites were deployed according to schedule at the height of around 340 miles (550 kilometers). However, a communications-receiving ground station's malfunction caused the news to be delayed by nearly 35 minutes.
"We're immensely proud to have delivered mission success for HawkEye 360," Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said in a press release statement.
"With Launch Complex 2, we set out to create a new path to orbit from US soil after more than 30 Electron launches from New Zealand, and what could be more fitting for the first Virginia mission than launching a Virginia-built satellite? We couldn't ask for better mission partners in HawkEye 360 and Virginia Space, and we look forward to many more missions together." pace, and we look forward to many more missions together."
Read also: Rocket Lab Gears Up For a Second Attempt to Catch a Rocket Booster Mid-Air Via Helicopter
Why the Launch was Delayed
Rocket Lab initially planned to start using Wallops for launches in 2020, but setbacks with a NASA-developed autonomous flight termination system, which was necessary for Electron launches, caused a long delay.
The system is an automated safety software intended to assist rockets and self-terminate if they deviate from their intended path.
David Pierce, director of NASA Wallops Flight Facility, stated that the organization discovered multiple software flaws that necessitated rectification and extra testing by NASA, the US Space Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The problems were eventually fixed in December 2022, but poor weather rendered the launch attempt impossible on Dec. 18.
Rocket Lab intends to use the Wallops launch pad to carry out one Electron mission about every month. The firm constructed a larger reusable rocket named Neutron and will also launch from the Virginia launch site.
The Neutron rocket's maiden launch is anticipated to happen before 2024.
Rocket Lab also plans to make the first stage of the Electron rocket reusable even though it has always been a disposable vehicle.
The space company has collected and examined Electron boosters from several orbital missions, even rescuing a falling first stage with a helicopter once.
Related Article: Rocket Lab Announces New Program That Will Let Customers Have Their Payloads in Orbit Within 24 Hours
