Rocket Lab Launches Japanese Radar Imaging Satellite on 30th Electron Mission – SpaceNews

PARIS — Rocket Lab successfully launched a Japanese radar imaging satellite on Sep 15 as the company prepares for another attempt to recover and reuse a booster.

An electron rocket lifted off at 4:38 p.m. EST from Pad B at Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The rocket’s kickstage placed its payload, the Japanese company Synspective’s StriX-1 satellite, in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 563 kilometers about an hour later.

The satellite is the third synthetic aperture imaging satellite (SAR) to be launched on electron rocket vehicles for Synspective. StriX-1 is the first “pre-commercial” satellite after two demonstrator satellites as the company prepares to build a constellation of up to 30 SAR satellites by 2026. StriX-1 has upgrades to its batteries and communications system to allow for the collection of more images.

The launch marked the seventh Electron mission of the year and 30th overall for the company. StriX-1 was the 150th satellite to be launched over these electron missions.

Rocket Lab did not attempt to recover Electron’s first stage. The last attempt to do so was on a May launch when a helicopter briefly held the stage under a parachute as it descended, but was forced to release it due to unforeseen loading on the helicopter. The booster was instead recovered from the ocean after being hosed down. During the StriX-1 launch webcast, the company said it would conduct another airborne recovery attempt later this year.

Rocket Lab has continued work to prepare reusable boosters. The company announced on September 1 that it had tested a Rutherford engine from the booster salvaged after launch in May and demonstrated that it worked after its first flight with only “minimal” overhaul.

“If we can achieve this high level of performance with engine components salvaged from the ocean, I’m optimistic and incredibly excited about what we can do the next time we bring dry engines back under a helicopter,” Rocket Lab chief executive Peter Beck said in a statement.

Others in the small launch vehicle industry remain more skeptical about the benefits of such rockets being reusable. “Reusability always comes up as something extremely quirky and attractive in my opinion, plus there’s obviously the appeal of something more eco-friendly,” said Giulio Ranzo, managing director of Avio, the maker of the Vega, during a panel at World Satellite Business Week 13 September.

He argued that reusability made sense especially for larger launch vehicles with high flight rates. “The smaller the launch vehicle and the lower the flight speed, the more useless it becomes,” he said. “I don’t see technically how with a 200-kilogram launch vehicle, reusability would be very practical, especially when the flight rate is typically around four or five launches per year.”

“Reusability is being explored,” said Jason Mello, president of Firefly Space Transport Services, a subsidiary of Firefly Aerospace. This applies to both the company’s Alpha vehicle, which is about to fly its second flight, and the future Medium Launch Vehicle it will develop with Northrop Grumman.

“We need to look at the business case and see what makes sense and what customer demand we need,” he said.

Virgin Orbit chief executive Dan Hart said the company was investigating the reusability of its LauncherOne rocket. “There’s puts and takes,” he said. “There are limitations and logistical complexities associated with reusability. However, if you can get the hardware back and use it, there’s certainly an advantage.”

He said the company has been looking at manufacturing improvements to reduce launch costs, rather than relying on component reuse. “The trade-off is pretty unclear as to whether reusability makes much sense.”

However, part of the entire LauncherOne system is reusable: the Boeing 747 aircraft used as the air launch platform for the rocket. “It’s flown over 8,500 times,” Hart said of the company’s aircraft. “So from a reusability standpoint, I think it’s a leader.”