An Electron first-stage booster is a reusable rocket stage used on the Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle.[1] It is made of a carbon composite developed and manufactured by Rocket Lab. In 2019, Rocket Lab announced plans to recover and reuse the first stage of Electron despite previously dismissing the idea. Flight 16 was the first launch to test recovery procedures followed by Flight 20 which, despite a failed primary mission, still achieved a successful Splashdown recovery and Flight 22. On 5 April 2022, Rocket Lab announced that flight 26 would feature the first full recovery attempt with a helicopter catch. The flight launched on 2 May 2022 UTC from launch pad 1A in Mahīa. While the Sikorsky S-92 was able to intersect the booster mid-air, the booster was released at the pilot's discretion after an unexpectedly large increase in mass. The booster parachuted into the ocean where it was recovered by ship.
List of boosters
editInactive Electron/Curie
editSerial number | Flight number | Flight name | Date | Payload | Mission status | Landing status | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B1 | Flight 1 | It's a Test | 25 May 2017 | Humanity Star | Failure (LC-1A) | No attempt | Destroyed[2] |
B2 | Flight 2 | Still Testing | 21 January 2018 | Humanity Star, Dove Pioneer, & Lemur-2[3] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B3 | Flight 3 | It's Business Time | 11 November 2018 | Lemur-2, Irvine-01, CICERO, NABEO-1 & Proxima[4] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B4 | Flight 4 | This One's for Pickering | 16 December 2018 | ELeNa XIX[5] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B5 | Flight 5 | Two Thumbs Up | 28 March 2019 | DARPA R3D2[6] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B6 | Flight 6 | That's a Funny Looking Cactus | 5 May 2019 | STP-27RD[7] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B7 | Flight 7 | Make It Rain | 29 June 2019 | BlackSky-3, Prometheus, ACRUX-1, Painani-1 & SpaceBEE 8 & 9[8] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B8 | Flight 8 | Look Ma, No Hands | 19 August 2019 | BRO-1, BlackSky-4 & Pearl White 1 & 2[9] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B9 | Flight 9 | As the Crow Flies | 17 October 2019 | Palisade[10] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B10 | Flight 10 | Running Out of Fingers | 6 December 2019 | ATL-1,[11] Fossasat-1, NOOR 1A & 1B, SMOG-P, TRSI-SAT & ALE-2[12] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B11 | Flight 11 | Birds of a Feather | 31 January 2020 | NROL-151[13] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B12 | Flight 12 | Don't Stop Me Now | 13 June 2020 | ANDESITE, M2-Pathfinder & 3 NRO Satellites[14] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B13 | Flight 13 | Pics Or It Didn't Happen | 4 July 2020 | CE-SAT-1B, Flock-4v & Faraday-1[15] | Failure (LC-1A)[16] | No attempt | Expended |
B15 | Flight 15 | In Focus | 28 October 2020 | Flock-4e & CE-SAT-2B[17] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B16 | Flight 16 | Return To Sender | 20 November 2020 | DRAGRACER, BRO-2 & 3, APSS-1, Spacebees & Gnome Chompski[18] | Success (LC-1A) | Success (splashdown)[19] | Retired[20] |
B17 | Flight 17 | The Owl's Night Begins | 15 December 2020 | StriX-α[21] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B18 | Flight 18 | Another One Leaves The Crust | 20 January 2021 | OHB Cosmos[22] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B20 | Flight 20 | Running Out of Toes | 15 May 2021 | BlackSky 8 & 9[23] | Failure (LC-1A)[24] | Success (splashdown)[25] | Retired[26] |
B21 | Flight 21 | It's a Little Chile Up Here | 29 July 2021 | STP-27RM (Monolith)[27] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B22 | Flight 22 | Love at First Insight | 18 November 2021 | BlackSky 10 & 11[28] | Success (LC-1A) | Success (splashdown)[29] | Retired[30] |
B23 | Flight 23 | A Data With Destiny | 9 December 2021 | BlackSky 14 & 15[31] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B24 | Flight 24 | The Owl's Night Continues | 28 February 2022 | StriX-b[32] | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B25 | Flight 25 | Without Mission A Beat | 2 April 2022 | BlackSky 16 & 17[33] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B26 | Flight 26 | There And Back Again | 2 May 2022 | Various Payloads[34] | Success (LC-1A) | Partial Success (Catch)[35] | Retired[36] |
B28 | Flight 28 | Wise One Looks Ahead | 13 July 2022 | NROL-162[37] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B29 | Flight 29 | Antipodean Adventure | 4 August 2022 | NROL-199[38] | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B30 | Flight 30 | The Owl Spreads Its Wings | 15 September 2022 | Strix-1[39] | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B31 | Flight 31 | It Argos Up From Here | 7 October 2022 | Argos-4 (GAzelle)[40] | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B32 | Flight 32 | Catch Me If You Can | 4 November 2022 | MATS[41] | Success (LC-1B) | Partial Success (Catch)[42] | Retired[43] |
B33 | Flight 33 | Virginia is for Launch Lovers | 24 January 2023 | HawkEye 360 × 3 | Success (LC-2) | No attempt | Expended |
B34 | Flight 34 | Stronger Together | 16 March 2023 | Capella 9 & 10 | Success (LC-2) | No attempt | Expended |
B35 | Flight 35 | The Beat Goes On | 24 March 2023 | BlackSky 18 & 19 Gen 2 | Success (LC-1B) | Success (splashdown) | Retired |
B36 | Flight 36 | Rocket Like A Hurricane | 8 May 2023 | TROPICS × 2 | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B37 | Flight 37 | Coming To A Storm Near You | 26 May 2023 | TROPICS × 2 | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B39 | Flight 39 | Baby Come Back | 18 July 2023 | Starling, LEO-3 & Lemur-2 | Success (LC-1B) | Success (splashdown) | Retired |
B40 | Flight 40 | We Love The Nightlife | 24 August 2023 | Acadia-1 | Success (LC-1B) | Success (splashdown) | Retired |
B41 | Flight 41 | We Will Never Desert You | 19 September 2023 | Acadia-2 | Failure (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B42 | Flight 42 | The Moon God Awakens | 15 December 2023 | QPS-SAR-5 | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B44 | Flight 44 | On Closer Inspection | 18 February 2024 | ADRAS-J | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B45 | Flight 45 | Owl Night Long | 9 March 2024 | Strix-3 | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B46 | Flight 46 | Live and Let Fly | 20 March 2024 | NROL-123 | Success (LC-2) | No attempt | Expended |
B47 | Flight 47 | Beginning Of The Swarm | 23 April 2024 | ACS-3[44] & NeonSat-1 | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B48 | Flight 48 | Ready, Aim, PREFIRE | 25 May 2024 | PREFIRE Mission 1[45] | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B49 | Flight 49 | PREFIRE & Ice | 5 June 2024 | PREFIRE Mission 2[46] | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B50 | Flight 50 | No Time Toulouse | 20 June 2024 | Kinéis 1-5 | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B51 | Flight 51 | Owl For One, One For Owl | 2 August 2024 | Strix-4 | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B52 | Flight 52 | A Sky Full Of SARs | 11 August 2024 | Acadia-3 | Success (LC-1B) | No attempt | Expended |
B53 | Flight 53 | Kinéis Killed The RadIoT Star | 21 September 2024 | Kinéis 6-10 | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
Active Electron/Curie
editSerial number | Flight number | Flight name | Date | Payload | Mission status | Landing status | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B43 | Flight 43 | Four Of A Kind | 31 January 2024 | Skylark | Success (LC-1B) | Success (Splashdown) | Awaiting Assignment |
B54 | Flight 54 | Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes | 19 October 2024 | E-Space satellite | Planned (LC-1A/B) | No attempt | Awaiting Launch |
Electron/Photon
editThe Photon kick-stage is an optional extra on the Electron launch vehicle allowing for heavier payload capacity or higher altitudes/interplanetary missions. The kick-stage was first used on Electron's 14th flight (Rocket Lab's return to launch after the "Pics Or It Didn't Happen" failure).
Serial number | Flight number | Flight name | Date | Payload | Mission status | Landing status | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B14 | Flight 14 | I Can't Believe It's Not Optical | 31 August 2020 | Sequoia & First Light[47] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B19 | Flight 19 | They Go Up So Fast | 22 March 2021 | Gunsmoke-J, M2, Veery Hatchling, Myriota-7, Centauri-3 & BlackSky-7[48] | Success (LC-1A) | No attempt | Expended |
B27 | Flight 27 | CAPSTONE | 28 June 2022 | CAPSTONE | Success (LC-1) | No attempt | Expended |
Electron/HASTE
editThe HASTE launch vehicle is a sub-orbital testbed derived from the Electron launch vehicle. It has a third stage for suborbital deployment, and has an option of different fairings to use on the vehicle. HASTE is used for payloads that do not need an orbital capability, and it also services optional trajectories depending on the customer. Any HASTE launch will always have a first stage that is expended.
Serial number | Flight number | Flight name | Date | Payload | Mission status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HB1 | Flight 38 | Scout's Arrow | 18 June 2023 | DYNAMO-A | Success (LC-2) |
References
edit- ^ "Reusable Rockets". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "AFTS Triggered". Next Spaceflight.
- ^ "Still Testing". Rocket Lab.
- ^ "It's Business Time" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "This One's For Pickering" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Two Thumbs Up" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "STP-27RD". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "Make It Rain" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Look Ma, No Hands" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "As The Crow Flies" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "ATL-1". NASA.gov.
- ^ "Running Out Of Fingers" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Birds Of a Feather" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Don't Stop Me Now" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Pics Or It Didn't Happen" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Launch Failure". Rocket Lab.
- ^ "In Focus" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Our Most Diverse Mission Yet". Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Return To Sender". Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Rocket Lab Returns Previously Flown Electron to Production Line in Preparation for First Reflight". businesswire.
- ^ "The Owl's Night Begins" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Another One Leaves the Crust" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Running Out Of Toes" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Running Out Of Toes Failure". Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Running Out Of Toes Failure". Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Rocket Lab Returns Previously Flown Electron to Production Line in Preparation for First Reflight". businesswire.
- ^ "It's a Little Chile Up Here" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Love At First Insight" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Love At First Insight Splashdown". Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Rocket Lab Returns Previously Flown Electron to Production Line in Preparation for First Reflight". businesswire.
- ^ "A Data With Destiny" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "The Owl's Night Continues" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Without Mission A Beat" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "There And Back Again" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "There And Back Again Catch". Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Rocket Lab Returns Previously Flown Electron to Production Line in Preparation for First Reflight". businesswire.
- ^ "Wise One Looks Ahead" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Antipodean Adventure" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "The Owl Spreads Its Wings" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "It Argos Up From Here" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Catch Me If You Can" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Catch Me If You Can Failed Catch". Rocket Lab.
- ^ "Rocket Lab Returns Previously Flown Electron to Production Line in Preparation for First Reflight". businesswire.
- ^ "ACS3". NASA.
- ^ "PREFIRE". NASA.
- ^ "PREFIRE". NASA.
- ^ "I Can't Believe It's Not Optical" (PDF). Rocket Lab.
- ^ "100th Satellite". Rocket Lab.