Launcher Electron of the Rocket Lab company is emblazoned with the NASA logo before the first launch from the New Zealand launch complex on the Mahiya Peninsula in New Zealand. Start scheduled December 12, 2018
Rocket Lab plans to launch the first mission for NASA next week, just one month after the first commercial flight. The Californian startup chose ELaNa-19 for its launch date on December 12, which will deliver 10 small satellites to low Earth orbit for NASA. If everything goes according to plan, the Electron rocket will take off from the launch pad on the Mahiya Peninsula (New Zealand) within a 4-hour window. If something fails, then the launch will be transferred to December 20th.
ELaNa - “educational launch of nanosatellites. ELaNa-19 is considered an important mission, which for the first time shows that small NASA satellites are endowed with a commercial advantage. Rocket Lab plans to expand access to space with a 17-meter Electron rocket, which will be able to deliver 227 kg of technology to orbit for $ 5 million. In general, the rocket managed to perform 3 orbital missions - demonstration flights in May 2017 and January 2018, as well as a commercial mission on 10 November. The next ten satellites weigh 78 kg. A small spacecraft deployed at an altitude of 500 km.
Cubesat is useful because it collects a lot of scientific data and tests various new technologies. For example, one of them will start measuring radiation levels in near-Earth space, while the second will demonstrate the deployment and management of a system of solar sailboats, which should help promote small probes in long-range space flights.
