Electrical issue scrubs Electron launch

Rocket Lab confirmed on Twitter the scrub of the Electron launch planned for tonight. The launch attempt was scrubbed due to an "indication of a power fault during ground checkouts" and are going to proceed on working out the issue. They were monitoring upper level winds throughout the day and it doesn't appear as though it would've been an issue at the time of launch. Rocket Lab stated on Twitter, "Team will work the issue tomorrow before a new target launch time is determined..". For further updates on the upcoming launch dates, follow Rocket Lab on Twitter @RocketLab.

Rocket Lab scrubs launch of Electron

At T-2 seconds until liftoff, Electron fired up its 9 Rutherford engines ready to launch, but the launch was aborted shortly after. The strongback returned to its original position and the cradle arm closed around the rocket as it switched back to external power. The Rocket Lab team is looking over the data of the rocket and will be providing updates regarding the next launch attempt on their Twitter @RocketLab.

Rocket Lab gearing up for launch on Sunday

Hold down fire of the Electron Rocket
Credit: Rocket Lab

Rocket lab is currently planning to launch their Electron "Still Testing" rocket from their private launch facility in New Zealand on Sunday at 8:30pm EST. The 2 stage rocket will be launching 3 satellites into orbit around the Earth. One of the satellites is an Earth imaging Dove satellite for Planet. The other 2 are Lemur-2 satellites for Weather mapping and ship traffic tracking from the company Spire. "We're eager to to test the next crucial step - payload deployment." says Peter Beck, Founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, "No major changes to the launch vehicle hardware have been required". The first launch of the Electron rocket failed to reach orbit on May 25th, 2017 after a third-party error in the hardware that has now been corrected. Beck also stated that carrying these payloads marks a significant milestone for Rocket Lab and it enables them to gather data and test the systems used in deploying satellites safely into orbit. A livestream of the launch will be shown on Rocket Lab's website about 12 minutes before launch.

Rocket Lab's "Still Testing" launch delayed by one day

Electron 'Still Testing' at Rocket Lab LC-1

Credit: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab, a private space company, was planning the second launch of their Electron rocket today from their private launch complex in New Zealand, but has been delayed by a day. They had planned to launch Electron during a 4-hour window that stretched from 8:30pm to 12:30am EST to carry three small satellites into orbit. This was the first of the planned 10-day launch window and they will attempt the same window again tomorrow. Weather forecasts for the next few days appear unfavorable for launch until at least Monday. They will be live streaming the launch on their website about 12 minutes before the anticipated time of the launch for the first time. When launched, this will be the second of the three planned test launches of the Electron rocket before opening up to commercial customers. If everything goes well during this launch, commercial access capabilities will be accelerated. Real time updates of the launch will be posted on Twitter @RocketLab.