Off the southwest, the last colors of the setting sun lit the sky’s rim as the crescent moon and two planets lined up overhead. It was a great scene, but everyone ignored it. Instead, all eyes were focused on a bright patch of artificial light on a barrier island a few miles away. This pickup was small enough to be trucked to the launch pad.
For years, the Electron rocket and the company behind it have been bogged down at a launch site in Virginia, awaiting various approvals. Because regulators shared enough paperwork with each other to convince everyone it was safe to launch. After that, the launch continued to be postponed due to weather and New Year holidays. But on Tuesday, everything went as smoothly as one could imagine, with Electron orbiting as soon as the launch window opened.
This launch is significant for Rocket Lab, which has invested the future of the company in its operations in Virginia. But it’s also important for launch sites that are billed as spaceports but don’t see much traffic from Earth.
about its launch
Because the Electron is a relatively small rocket, weighing only a few hundred kilograms into orbit, the launch experience is very different from massive rockets such as the Shuttle, SLS, and Falcon Heavy. It’s considerably smaller than the Falcon 9, so your launch experience will vary accordingly from what you’ve heard from others about what a rocket launch is like. (My only previous experience was one I vaguely remembered over 40 years ago.)
When the flame first appeared beneath it, the electron was still visible from two miles away, but disappeared as soon as it left the launch pad. Due to the nighttime launch, only bright flames were immediately visible.Around the same time, a sound was heard from the launch pad two miles away. The best description I’ve read shifted it to the bass register, comparing it to the noise of tearing cloth. Electron didn’t have that punch.
That lightness also meant Elektron left the pad in a hurry. Large rockets often hesitate immediately after leaving the launch pad, having a hard time accepting that they have enough acceleration to launch into space. If Electron had an equivalent moment, it would end as soon as it started.
From there, the launch benefited from the dry, cold and incredibly clear skies that are so characteristic of East Coast winters. A sliver of light soon returned as the second stage engine took over. During this time, some objects were briefly visible under the second stage. Possibly the first stage and/or the fairing are catching the last bits of sunlight at altitude or are being heated in the atmosphere.
Subsequent reports indicate that the three on-board satellites have successfully separated and established communication with the operator, Hawkeye360. Hawkeye360 uses them to track radio sources on Earth.
