Rocket Lab Electron I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical (Capella 2 & First Light)
Electron
Status
Success
Date
31 AUG 2020
03:05
Launch Provider
Rocket Lab
Launch Pad
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Mission Overview
This return to flight mission is dedicated for Capella Space, an information services company providing Earth observation data on demand. Capella’s payload, ‘Sequoia’, is a single 100 kg class microsatellite which will be the first publicly available satellite in the company’s commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) constellation. By positioning the satellite to a 45-degree inclination, Capella Space will maximize coverage over important areas such as the Middle East, Korea, Japan, Europe, South East Asia, Africa, and the U.S. The mission name is a nod to Capella’s SAR technology that provides high quality images of the Earth day or night, and in any weather conditions, as well as a nod to the infamous advertisement campaign for “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter”. Capella’s space-based radar can detect sub-0.5 meter changes on the surface of the Earth, providing insights and data that can be used for security, agricultural and infrastructure monitoring, as well as disaster response and recovery.
Rocket
Electron
Mission Type
Earth Science
Orbit
Low Earth Orbit
Stages
3
Livestream
Rocket Details
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.
Height
18 m
Diameter
1.2 m
Launch Mass
13 T
Thrust
162 kN
