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On October 28 at 5:21 pm EDT, a launch sent ten satellites into orbit. The company responsible for the launch was Rocket Lab and the take-off rocket was its electron repeater. The venue was its launch pad in New Zealand and, for the country time, the launch took place on October 29 at 10:21 am, equivalent to 2121 GMT. Nine of the payloads, small CubeSats called SuperDove, have expanded the already prominent planet constellation. The company, which is based in San Francisco, has the most important Earth observation constellation globally. Currently, the company has sent up to 350 satellites into orbit. Currently, 150 of them are operational.
The role of the spacecraft is to monitor changes on Earth and thus make the data available to its customers. In other cases, it offers free images. A good example is the orbital photos that show the impact Iran’s missile attacks have had on Iraqi military bases. Other images relate to the aftermath of natural disasters, including earthquakes. The remaining payload is called the CE-SAT-IIB which weighs 35.5 kilograms equivalent to approximately 78.3 lbs. Its manufacturer is Canon Electronics, Inc., based in Japan, and its mission is to take pictures of the Earth at night. On board there are small telescopes ideal for CubeSat and a medium-sized one characterized by a very high sensitivity camera.
About an hour after launch, the satellites had reached their destination. They landed on the Solar Synchronous Orbit (SSO). They are at an altitude of 500 kilometers, about 310 miles. Therefore, they are able to visualize the surface with solar illumination all over the place. The launch comes months after the failed one on July 4th. Rocket Lab’s two-stage Electron rocket was responsible for the failed launch. Its upper stage suffered a faulty electrical connection and as a result lost the Canon CE-SAT-IB microsatellite and 5 SuperDove. After the failure, the booster did not fly back until August.
The electronic rocket has a height of 17 meters equivalent to 57 feet. This year it has facilitated five launches, but has been tasked with 15 takeoffs since its existence. According to Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck, the recovery and reuse of the early stages of the rocket will begin soon. As a result, the frequency of launches will increase. On recent Electron flights, Rocket Lab tests of reusability technology were carried out. However, this was not the case for this launch. Due to a problem with the oxygen sensor, the launch schedule has changed since October 21st. Fortunately, it has become a hit and now there are more Earth observation satellites in orbit.
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