Rocket Lab has a new launch pad, and it's about to get its first workout.
The California-based company announced Wednesday (Feb. 23) that it has
finished work on the second pad at its New Zealand launch complex, which
lies on the North Island's Mahia Peninsula. And this newly built Pad B is
set to host its first liftoff as early as Monday (Feb. 28).
During that mission, known as "The Owl's Night Continues," a Rocket Lab
Electron launcher will loft a Strix Earth-observation satellite for the
Japanese company Synspective. The window for "The Owl's Night Continues"
opens at 3:35 p.m. EST (2035 GMT) on Monday; you can watch it live here at
Space.com, courtesy of Rocket Lab, or directly via the company.
The 59-foot-tall (18 meters) Electron gives small satellites dedicated rides
to orbit. It's one of the most prolific rockets currently in operation, and
Pad B will allow even greater Electron launch cadences, Rocket Lab
representatives said.
"Even with just one pad at Launch Complex 1, Electron quickly became the
second most-frequently launched U.S. rocket every year," company founder and
CEO Peter Beck said in a statement, referring to the New Zealand
locale.
"Now, with two pads at Launch Complex 1 and a third in Virginia, imagine
what three pads across two continents can do for schedule control,
flexibility and rapid response for satellite operators globally," he added.
The Virginia pad, at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island,
was completed a while back but has yet to host a launch due to delays with
the NASA-developed
autonomous flight termination system that will be used with missions from
the site. NASA released that system to industry partners last month,
however, so a Rocket Lab launch from Virginia could happen relatively soon.
"The Owl's Night Continues" will be Rocket Lab's second mission for
Synspective. The first, called "The Owl's Night Begins," lifted off in
December 2020, carrying a Strix satellite to orbit from Pad A in New
Zealand.
Synspective is building a constellation of more than 30 Earth-observation
satellites, which will study our planet using synthetic aperture radar. "The
Owl's Night Begins" delivered the first of these craft to orbit.
Tags:
Space & Astrophysics