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Baby Come Back (Rideshare)

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Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Dedicated Rideshare

Low Earth Orbit Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
39 - Pacific Ocean

The "Baby Come Back" mission includes NASA's Starling project, which consists of four CubeSats designed to test technologies for future swarm missions. Telesat contributes the LEO 3 demonstration satellite, ensuring continuity for customers and ecosystem vendor testing. Additionally, two 3U satellites carrying GNSS-RO payloads from SpinGlobal will replenish their constellation of over 100 multipurpose satellites.

Updates

JRascagneres • July 18, 2023, 3:15 a.m.

Mission success confirmed


JRascagneres • July 18, 2023, 1:28 a.m.

Liftoff


LL2 • July 18, 2023, 1:02 a.m.

Livestream has started


SwGustav • July 17, 2023, 10:19 p.m.

Updating T-0


Jay • July 16, 2023, 2:31 a.m.

Delayed due to weather


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

Booster Info


39

Status: Retired


Type: Core
Flight Proven: No
First Flight: July 18, 2023
Last Flight: July 18, 2023
Flights: 1
Landings Attempted: 1
Landings Successful: 1

Landing Information

Rocket Lab has successfully recovered the Electron booster after a soft parachute splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Result: Successful Parachute Landing landing at Pacific Ocean.

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab

(RL)

CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 59 Failures: 4 Pending: 33

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

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A Rocket Lab Electron rocket placed seven smallsats for three customers into orbit July 17 on a launch that also brought the company a step closer to reusing the rocket’s booster.

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The week of July 16 through July 23 will see at least four more launches take place around the world, potentially increasing the orbital launch count to 108 so far in 2023. This includes Rocket Lab’s launch of the “Baby Come Back” mission …

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