LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Rocket Lab has announced a plan to create the Electron, a lightweight, low-cost, launch vehicle designed to lift small satellites into orbit.
Rocket Lab plans to build the carbon-composite launch vheilce at is Aukland, New Zealand facility. The company plans to offer launches for NZD5 million $4.2 million). It also plans to build launch vehicles in a few weeks, increasing flexibility for customers. Rocket Lab says it has commitments for 30 launches.
Electron is 18m in length, with a 1m diameter and will weigh about 10,500 kg at launch. Its maximum engine thrust of 14.8 metric tons will allow Electron to achieve a 27,500 km/h top speed. The launch vehicle is expected to carry up to 110 kg to a 500 km circular sun-synchronous orbit.
Currently small satellites are launched as secondary payloads on larger launch vehicles. Launching as a secondary payload can offer significant cost savings, but reduces flexibility because operators must wait for all payloads to be ready to launch. A number of companies are developing small launch vehicles that can be dedicated to launching a single, or just a few, small satellites. One potential competitor to Rocket Labs is Virgin Galactic, which is developing LauncherOne that will focus on a similar market to Electron.
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