Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Live and Let Fly (NROL-123)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Unknown
Mission: Government/Top Secret

Unknown Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C) Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA Probability: 80%

Mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • March 21, 2024, 8:35 a.m.

Launch success confirmed.


hitura-nobad • March 21, 2024, 7:25 a.m.

Liftoff


hitura-nobad • March 21, 2024, 7:04 a.m.

Proceeding with launch at 07:25 UTC


hitura-nobad • March 21, 2024, 6:58 a.m.

T-0 set to 07:25 UTC, issue still being worked on


hitura-nobad • March 21, 2024, 6:53 a.m.

launch window extended


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: 50 Failures: 4 Pending: 32

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

Teslarati

Rocket Lab successfully launches the Live and Let Fly mission

Rocket Lab successfully launched the Live and Let Fly mission last Thursday. Launching at 3:25 am ET, Electron successfully launched the Live...

SpaceNews

Electron launches NRO mission from Wallops

Rocket Lab launched a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office from Virginia March 21, the company’s second launch in as many weeks.

Teslarati

Rocket Lab to launch classified payload for the NRO

Rocket Lab is gearing up for its next mission, Live & Let Fly, no earlier than Thursday, March 21st. The mission will...

NASASpaceflight

Launch Roundup: two missions to the ISS, including first Dragon 2 from SLC-40

SpaceX is preparing to launch three Falcon 9s, including two Starlink missions. Additionally, launching this week are two Chinese rockets, an Electron, and a crewed Soyuz.

Space Scout

Electron and National Reconnaissance Office Ready for Flight

US-New Zealand based company Rocket Lab is preparing for their next mission to fly out of Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia: a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office at 2:40 AM on March 21, 2024. The mission is schedul…

Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C)


Electron
Success
1 day, 19 hours ago
Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Launch of a yet to identified satellite to SSO for an undisclosed customer. The customer is suspected to be Low Earth Orbit communication satellite c…


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 4 hours ago
Dragon CRS-2 SpX-31
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

31st commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station operated by SpaceX. The flight will be conducted under the second Commer…


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Success
2 days, 7 hours ago
Ionosfera-M 1 & 2
Cosmodrome Site 1S - Vostochny Cosmodrome, Siberia, Russian Federation

Ionosfera is a constellation of four ionospheric and magnetospheric research satellites developed by for Roscosmos for the project Ionozond. The s…


H3-22
Success
2 days, 23 hours ago
DSN 3 (Kirameki 3)
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2 - Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

DSN 3, also known as Kirameki 3, is a geostationary communications satellite to be used for military communications by the Japanese military.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
6 days, 22 hours ago
Kosmos 2579 (Bars-M No. 6)
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity uncertain. Bars-M is the second incarnation of the Bars project, which was started in the mid 1990ies to develop a success…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 10-13
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 9-9
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Shenzhou 19
Launch Area 4 (SLS-1 / 921) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Eighth crewed flight to the Chinese space station.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Starlink Group 10-8
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
NROL-167
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Fourth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office t…