Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Rocket Lab - Another One Leaves The Crust Launch 01/20/2021

Lift-off of the 'Another One Leaves The Crust' mission for OHB Group occurred at 07:26 UTC on January 20 2021 from Pad A at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.

Another One Leaves The Crust

The mission will launch a single communication microsatellite for OHB Group that will enable specific frequencies to support future services from orbit. The launch will be Rocket Lab’s 18th Electron mission and was procured for OHB Group through OHB Cosmos International Launch Service GmbH, the laun...

Another One Leaves The Crust (GMS-T)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Polar Orbit
Mission: Communications

Polar Orbit Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Dedicated mission for a single communication microsatellite that will enable specific frequencies to support future services from orbit. The launch will be Rocket Lab’s 18th Electron mission.

Updates

Nosu • Jan. 20, 2021, 9:12 a.m.

Successful launch


SwGustav • Jan. 20, 2021, 1:25 a.m.

Updating T-0


SwGustav • Jan. 18, 2021, 3:22 a.m.

Setting GO



spacevogel • Jan. 16, 2021, 5:33 p.m.


Electron

Family:
Configuration:

Electron is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle (with an optional third stage) developed by the American aerospace company Rocket Lab. Electron is a small-lift launch vehicle designed to launch small satellites and cubesats to sun-synchronous orbit and low earth orbit. The Electron is the first orbital class rocket to use electric-pump-fed engines, powered by the 9 Rutherford engines on the first stage. It is also used as a suborbital testbed (called HASTE) for hypersonics research.

See Details
Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    2
  • Max Stage
    3
  • Length
    18.0 m
  • Diameter
    1.2 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    1.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    13.0 T
  • Thrust
    162.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Electron
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Electron
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $6000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    300.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    225.0 kg

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab

(RL)

CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 75 Failures: 4 Pending: 42

Agency Type:

Rocket Lab is an American aerospace manufacturer with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. The company develops lightweight, cost-effective commercial rocket launch services. The Electron Program was founded on the premise that small payloads such as CubeSats require dedicated small launch vehicles and flexibility not currently offered by traditional rocket systems. Its rocket, the Electron, is a light-weight rocket and is now operating commercially. The company is also producing a variety of spacecrafts and spacecrafts components.

INFO WIKI

Related News

SpaceNews

Rocket Lab launches secretive communications satellite for OHB

ocket Lab successfully launched a communications satellite for German company OHB Group Jan. 20 in the first Electron mission of the year.

Spaceflight Now

Rocket Lab launches communications satellite for OHB

A mysterious small satellite built by the German company OHB, purported to be a pathfinder for a Chinese-owned communications constellation, took off from New Zealand Wednesday and soared into orbit on top of a Rocket Lab Electron launcher.

NASA Spaceflight

Another One Leaves The Crust begins busy year for Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab started its busiest year with the dedicated launch of a micro-satellite aboard their Electron rocket for OHB Group on Wednesday.

Spaceflight Now

Smallsat launch providers readying for first missions of 2021

Virgin Orbit and Rocket Lab teams are gearing up for missions as soon as next week, with Virgin’s air-launched rocket set for its second demonstration flight and Rocket Lab’s Electron booster poised to launch a small German-owned communica…

SpaceNews

Virgin Orbit, Rocket Lab schedule first launches of 2021

Virgin Orbit has rescheduled its second orbital launch attempt for Jan. 10 as another small launch vehicle company, Rocket Lab, announces plans for its first launch of 2021.

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 9 hours ago
CSG-3
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

CSG-3 is an Earth observation satellite for the Italian Space Agency, part of a reconnaissance constellation using synthetic aperture radars operatin…


Long March 7A
Success
5 days, 12 hours ago
Shijian 29 A-B
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

2 satellites officially described as for "demonstration of new technologies for spatial targets detection" purposes.


Long March 4B
Success
6 days, 7 hours ago
Tianhui 7
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

A satellite officially described as for cartography purposes, details TBD.


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Success
1 week ago
AIST-2T 01 & 02
Cosmodrome Site 1S - Vostochny Cosmodrome, Siberia, Russian Federation

A pair of Russian optical Earth observation satellites built by the Progress Rocket Space Centre for obtaining stereo images of the Earth's surface, …


Long March 3B/E
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Fengyun-4C
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

China's geostationary meteorological satellite program FY-4 (Feng Yun 4) is the second generation of chinese geostationary meteorological satellites.


Long March 8A
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
SatNet LEO Group 17
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Obzor-R No.1
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Assignment of payloads to this launch is uncertain. The Russian Obzor-R satellite is a planned X-band radar earth observation satellite desi…


LVM-3 (GSLV Mk III)
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
BlueBird Block 2 #1
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

AST SpaceMobile’s Block 2 BlueBird satellites are designed to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird Block 1 satellites, requi…


Long March 12A
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Demo Flight
Long March 12A Pad - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch of CASC/SAST’s Long March 12A rocket, with a dummy payload. The rocket’s 1st stage attempted to land on a landing pad about 300 km …


HANBIT-Nano
Failure
1 week, 6 days ago
Spaceward
HANBIT Pad - Alcântara Space Center, Federative Republic of Brazil

Maiden orbital launch attempt for the South Korean start-up Innospace and its HANBIT-Nano small launch vehicle. Onboard this flight are five small sa…