INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Rocket Lab, the New Zealand-based rocket company that is looking to further amplify the commercial space frenzy, is launching its first
If successful, it will mark a significant new development in the highly competitive world of commercial launches.Update: Sorry folks but not
The company said it will announce a new target soon, while the launch window remains July 6.Liftoff is planned for 2:10 in the morning local
time in New Zealand, or 7:10 Pacific time in the United States ; the live stream will start about 20 minutes before that.The Electron rocket
is a far smaller one than the Falcon 9s we see so frequently these days, with a nominal payload of 150 kilograms, just a fraction of the
many tons that we see sent up by SpaceX
every car on the road has to be a big rig, not every rocket needs to be a Saturn V; 150 kilos is more than enough to fill with paying
customers and cover the cost of launch
students at UC Irvine and High Performance Space Structure Systems; you can see the specifics of these on the manifest (PDF)
ambitions for interplanetary travel, sending people to space or anything like that
And if you think that will be enough to meet demand, just wait a couple years.
