Rocket Lab's 100th launch: Electron hits the century
Published
Rocket Lab is set to fly its 100th mission early on Saturday, Nov. 14, with an Electron rocket carrying a Japanese Earth-observing radar satellite from its New Zealand site. The launch window opens at 12:30 a.m. EST (0530 GMT), according to Space.com.
The mission is called "The Mountain God Rises" and is the 11th launch for Tokyo-based iQPS, which is building a constellation of about three dozen synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. If all goes to plan, Electron's kick stage will release one iQPS spacecraft 575 km above Earth. SAR satellites can see through clouds and image at night, which is why customers like them.
The number is the story. On the company's third-quarter earnings call on Nov. 9, CEO Peter Beck said no commercially developed rocket has reached 100 launches faster, Falcon 9 included, and put Electron's reliability at 96% across 99 launches. Those are the company's own figures. One detail the headline numbers hide: not all 100 are orbital. A suborbital version called HASTE, used by customers to test hypersonic technology, accounts for nine missions so far.
Rocket Lab flew Electron for the first time in May 2017. That test failed, and the second flight in January 2018 delivered several cubesats to orbit.
Why it matters: small satellites now have a dependable dedicated ride, and a steady cadence of repeat customers like iQPS is what turns a new rocket into infrastructure.
Does a dedicated small launcher still make sense when rideshare keeps getting cheaper?