Despite an unfortunate anomaly nearly three months ago, Rocket Lab is ready to see its Electron rocket fly once again with a new mission slated for launch on Friday.
The California-based company announced that it will launch a new Electron mission no earlier than December 14 during a daily two-hour launch window that opens at 11:00 p.m. ET – that’s December 15 from 3pm to 7pm AEDT. The rocket is set for liftoff from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.
Rocket Lab will stream the launch live on its website with the broadcast set to begin 20 minutes before liftoff.
The mission will mark Electron’s comeback following an in-flight anomaly that took place in September. During its last mission, the rocket cleared Max-Q (the moment of most aerodynamic stress) and pulled off a first stage burn and stage separation. Around two minutes and 30 seconds after its launch, however, Electron experienced an issue that resulted in the mission failure and loss of a radar imaging satellite on board.
In late October, Rocket Lab was cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration to launch its Electron rocket again. Data indicated that Electron’s first stage performed as expected and wasn’t the cause of the anomaly, although the exact root cause wasn’t really specified.
Prior to the rocket failure, Electron had been on a solid streak of 20 consecutive successful launches. The 59-foot-tall (18-meter-tall) light lift launch vehicle is the second most frequently used rocket in the U.S., delivering government and privately owned payloads.
For its upcoming mission, Electron will carry the TSUKUYOMI-I satellite for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, a Japan-based Earth imaging company. As such, the mission was named “The Moon God Awakens” as a tribute to Tsukuyomi, the Japanese God of the Moon.
This will mark Electron’s 10th launch for 2023, and 42nd launch of Electron overall. Besides September’s anomaly, the small rocket failed to reach orbit twice before. An engine malfunction in July 2020 resulted in a mission failure, and its upper-stage engine shut down seconds after ignition in May 2021.
Rocket Lab has been experimenting with Electron’s reusability, hoping to inch itself closer to its main industry rival SpaceX. In July, Rocket Lab launched seven satellites on board its Electron rocket before its booster was recovered by a parachute-assisted ocean splashdown.