Electron is Rocket Lab's small rocket, with a carbon composite body and 3D-printed engines driven by electric pumps.
rocket-lab-electron Electron is a small two-stage rocket for dedicated launches of small satellites. Rocket Lab designs, builds and launches it. Flights leave from Launch Complex-1 in New Zealand and Launch Complex-2 in Virginia. It stands 18 metres tall and 1.2 metres across, and lifts 300 kilograms to low Earth orbit, up from 225.
The whole structure is carbon composite, which Rocket Lab says cuts mass by as much as 40 percent against aluminium. The engines, called Rutherford, have all their primary parts 3D printed, and electric motors driven by lithium-polymer batteries run their pumps. Each engine weighs only 35 kilograms.
A small two-stage launcher for dedicated flights of small satellites. Its carbon composite body and 3D printed electric-pump engines cut inert mass, which matters for a rocket that lifts only a few hundred kilograms.
Electron's structure is a carbon fibre composite monocoque, a shell that carries the loads itself. The casings and tanks are carbon composite, and the tanks hold liquid oxygen and kerosene without a liner. The tanks of each stage share one bulkhead, and the second stage carries about 2,000 kilograms of propellant.
Nine sea-level Rutherford engines power the first stage, each producing 5,600 pounds-force, and one vacuum version powers the second. Every primary part is 3D printed, including the thrust chamber and the main propellant valves, and an engine can be printed in as little as 24 hours. Electromechanical actuators steer each engine.
Brushless electric motors drive the propellant pumps in place of gas-generator turbomachinery, and can reach 90 percent efficiency. Lithium-polymer batteries power the motors. Two battery packs are jettisoned in flight to cut mass when a third takes over.
The second stage burns for about five minutes. The Kick Stage, a third stage, is 405 millimetres tall, 1.2 metres across and weighs 40 kilograms dry. It has carbon composite tanks and Rocket Lab's Curie engine, which is 3D printed, pressure-fed and restartable.
The fairing is a composite split clamshell, 1.2 metres across and 2.5 metres tall, with environmental control for the payload. At separation each half rotates away on a hinge, released by pneumatic unlocking and springs. Satellites mount on a honeycomb composite payload plate, or in Rocket Lab's Maxwell CubeSat dispensers.
The whole vehicle structure, the casings and tanks, and the Kick Stage structure and tanks. The fibre and resin are not named.
The high-voltage packs that power the electric pump motors. Two are jettisoned in flight.
The split clamshell payload fairing. Rocket Lab does not name the type.
The payload plate, about 1 metre across. The face sheet and core materials are not named.
Nine sea-level Rutherford engines power the first stage, one vacuum Rutherford the second, and a Curie engine drives the Kick Stage. In its most advanced form the Kick Stage becomes Photon, Rocket Lab's satellite bus. Rocket Lab designs and builds the rocket itself. RUAG and Planetary Systems Corp supply payload separation systems. The first launch, in May 2017, failed to reach orbit, and a second followed in January 2018.
Rocket Lab
Stage 1: nine engines per vehicle (batch2 draft entry rocket-lab-rutherford)
Stage 2: one vacuum-optimized engine (batch2 draft entry rocket-lab-rutherford)
Kick Stage: one engine
Rockwest Composites
Four DiskSat spacecraft flew on Electron; Aerospace does not name the substrate supplier, the Rock West link is the release and image captions
In its most advanced configuration the Kick Stage becomes Photon
Designs, manufactures and launches Electron
PAS 381S clamp-band separation system for Electron
Motorized Lightband separation systems
Launches from Launch Complex-1 in New Zealand and Launch Complex-2 in Virginia
NASA Ames
Carbon fibre. Here: Vehicle structure; Casings and propellant tanks and more. There: TechEdSat secondary structural pieces.
composite. Here: Payload fairing (composite split clam shell). There: CTD STELOC slit-tube boom; Oxford Space Systems AstroTube boom (AlSat-1N) and more.
NASA
Carbon fibre. Here: Vehicle structure; Casings and propellant tanks and more. There: Core panels (webs, tank bulkhead, lower platform); Solar array wings (x4, X-wing, three panels each) with wing-tip cameras.
composite. Here: Payload fairing (composite split clam shell). There: Oxygen and nitrogen tanks (x3 oxygen, x1 nitrogen).
Rocket Lab's payload guide does not name the metal of the Rutherford engines, the fibre and resin of the composite, or the materials of the interstage, fairing and payload plate. It also names no battery maker and only two separation-system partners, and says nothing about recovery or reuse hardware.
What is written above is built from these numbers and quotes. Each row links to the page it was taken from. Get all of it as JSON, or ask our MCP server.
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Payload to LEO | 300 kg (up from 225 kg) |
| Engine count | Nine engines on first stage, one on second |
| Rutherford mass | 35 kg each |
| Vehicle height and diameter | 18 m tall, 1.2 m diameter |
| Lift-off mass | 13,000 kg |
| Structure | carbon fibre composite monocoque |
| Mass saving from composites | up to 40 percent lighter than aluminium launch vehicle structures |
| Nominal payload | 200 kg / 440 lbm to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit |
| Stage 2 burn | about five minutes |
| Stage 2 ignition in the example flight profile | L+162 s at about 82 km |
| Rutherford engines flown | 130 engines flown to space as of July 2020 |
| Rutherford print time | as little as 24 hours per engine |
| First launch | May 2017, failed to reach orbit; second launch January 2018 |
| Launch rate | more than 130 launches a year from two launch sites |
| Kick Stage thruster count | 6 reaction control thrusters in 2 pods |
Each material named in the sources: where it is used here, which other products use it, and its key numbers when its material page exists.
Used in 4 partsVehicle structure · Casings and propellant tanks · Kick Stage structure · +1 more
Used in 2 partsEngine pump power · High-voltage battery packs (HVBs), stage 2 jettisonable
Used in 1 partPayload fairing (composite split clam shell)
Used in 1 partPayload plate (honeycomb composite, about 1 m diameter)
Structure and engine manufacturing method sourced; no parts list. Components, suppliers and links were added from public sources. A material is left blank where no source states it.
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle structure“The structure of the Electron is made from advanced carbon composites.” | Advanced carbon compositescarbon-fibre | — | — |
| Casings and propellant tanks“Advanced carbon composite casings and tanks give it a strong and light-weight structure.” | Carbon compositecarbon-fibre | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine primary parts“All primary parts of the oxygen/hydrocarbon engine are 3-D printed.” | Not said | — | — |
| Engine pump power“better lithium polymer batteries” | Lithium-polymer batterieslithium-polymer-battery | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rutherford sea-level engines (x9)Stage 1 propulsion, LOx and kerosene, electric-pump fed“Electron’s first stage consists of nine sea-level Rutherford engines, linerless common bulkhead tanks for LOx and RP-1, and an interstage.” | Not said | — | Supplier: Rocket Lab |
| Linerless common-bulkhead LOx/RP-1 tanks (refines the existing carbon-composite tank row)Stage 1 propellant tanks sharing one bulkhead“linerless common bulkhead tanks for LOx and RP-1” | Not said | — | — |
| Stage 1 interstage with pneumatic pusher separationJoins stages 1 and 2 and pushes them apart“INTERSTAGE SEPARATION SYSTEM Pneumatic Pusher” | Not said | — | — |
| Linerless common-bulkhead LOx/RP-1 tanksStage 1 propellant tanks sharing one bulkhead; detail of the current carbon-composite tank row“linerless common bulkhead tanks for LOx and RP-1” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brushless DC electric motors driving the propellant pumpsReplace gas-generator turbomachinery“making use of brushless DC electric motors and high-performance lithium polymer batteries to drive its propellant pumps” | Not said | — | — |
| High-voltage battery packs (HVBs), stage 2 jettisonablePower the LOx and kerosene pumps; two are dropped when a third takes over“the first two HVBs are jettisoned from Electron to reduce mass and increase performance in flight” | lithium polymer batterieslithium-polymer-battery | — | — |
| Regeneratively cooled thrust chamber (additively manufactured)Combustion chamber printed as a primary part“including the regeneratively cooled thrust chamber, injector pumps, and main propellant valves” | Not said | — | — |
| Injector pumps (additively manufactured, as worded by Rocket Lab)Printed pump and injector parts“first oxygen/ hydrocarbon engine to use additive manufacturing for all primary components” | Not said | — | — |
| Main propellant valves (additively manufactured)Printed valves“injector pumps, and main propellant valves” | Not said | — | — |
| Pressurant systemGives the pumps enough inlet pressure to run safely“a pressurant system is used to provide enough pump inlet pressure to safely operate” | Not said | — | — |
| Electromechanical thrust vector actuators (two axes)Steer each engine“The engine thrust is directed with electromechanical thrust vector actuators in two axes.” | Not said | — | — |
| Cold gas reaction control system (stage 2 roll control)Roll control in flight“Roll control is provided via a cold gas reaction control system (RCS).” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rutherford vacuum engine (x1)Stage 2 propulsion with a larger expansion-ratio nozzle“Electron’s second stage consists of a single vacuum optimized Rutherford engine, and linerless common bulkhead tanks for LOx and kerosene.” | Not said | — | Supplier: Rocket Lab |
| Linerless common-bulkhead LOx/kerosene tanks, stage 2About 2,000 kg of propellant“The 1.2 m diameter second stage has approximately 2,000 kg of propellant on board.” | Not said | — | — |
| Pressurant system (as described for stage 2)Gives the pumps enough inlet pressure to run safely“a pressurant system is used to provide enough pump inlet pressure to safely operate” | Not said | — | — |
| Electromechanical thrust vector actuators (two axes, as described for stage 2)Steer each engine“The engine thrust is directed with electromechanical thrust vector actuators in two axes.” | Not said | — | — |
| Cold gas reaction control system (roll control, as described for stage 2)Roll control in flight“Roll control is provided via a cold gas reaction control system (RCS).” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curie engineAdditively manufactured, pressure-fed, storable bipropellant, restartable“The Kick Stage is powered by Rocket Lab’s in-house designed and built Curie engine.” | Not said | — | Supplier: Rocket Lab |
| Kick Stage structureThird stage tug, 405 mm tall, 1.2 m diameter, 40 kg dry“MATERIAL Carbon composite ENGINE Curie” | carbon composite (fibre and resin not stated)carbon-fibre | — | — |
| Kick Stage carbon composite propellant tanksLightweight tanks integrated with the engine and valves“PROPELLANT STORAGE Carbon composite tanks” | carbon composite (fibre and resin not stated)carbon-fibre | — | — |
| Kick Stage cold gas reaction control thrusters (x6, two pods)Attitude control and propellant settling“six low minimum impulse bit cold gas Reaction Control System thrusters” | Not said | — | — |
| Kick Stage tank pressurization systemPressurizes the propellant tanks“tank pressurization system, and high propellant mass fraction tanks which can be scaled to meet mission-specific needs” | Not said | — | — |
| Standard electrical interface panel (SEIP)Payload separation, discrete and umbilical circuits on the Kick Stage“Electron offers a Standard Electrical Interface Panel (SEIP) located on the kick stage” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payload fairing (composite split clam shell)Protects the payload; includes environmental control; 1.2 m diameter, 2.5 m tall“Electron’s payload fairing is a composite split clam shell design and includes environmental control for the payload.” | composite (type not stated)fibre-reinforced-polymer-composite | — | — |
| Fairing separation system (pneumatic unlocking, springs, hinge)Each half rotates on a hinge away from the payload“During separation, each half of the fairing is designed to rotate on a hinge away from the payload, resulting in a safe separation motion.” | Not said | — | — |
| Payload plate (honeycomb composite, about 1 m diameter)Primary attachment between the vehicle and the customer payload“Rocket Lab’s Payload Plate is a honeycomb composite structure which is customized with an interface bolt pattern” | honeycomb composite (face sheet and core materials not stated)honeycomb-composite-unstated | — | — |
| Maxwell CubeSat dispensersRocket Lab-developed separation systems for CubeSats“such as our Maxwell series of CubeSat dispensers” | Not said | — | Supplier: Rocket Lab |
| RUAG PAS 381S separation systemClamp-band separation system offered with a fly-away umbilical“Rocket Lab has worked with RUAG to offer the PAS 381S separation system.” | Not said | — | Supplier: RUAG |
| Motorized Lightband separation systems (8 to 24 inch)Microsatellite separation systems“Rocket Lab has worked with Planetary Systems Corp (PSC) to offer multiple Motorized Light-Band (MLB) diameters” | Not said | — | Supplier: Planetary Systems Corp |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flight computer systems (FPGA-based)In-house avionics with hardware-in-the-loop validation“The computing nodes make use of state-of-the-art Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) architecture” | Not said | — | Supplier: Rocket Lab |
| Autonomous flight termination system (FAA certified)Ends the flight automatically if mission rules are violated“The Electron launch vehicle is equipped with a proven, Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) certified autonomous flight termination system” | Not said | — | — |
Engine alloy, fairing, kick stage and Curie not sourced. More detail: Rocket Lab's own pages (rocketlabcorp.com/launch/electron, rocketlabusa.com/electron) return HTTP 403 to automated fetches; the Payload User Guide PDF (version 8.0, September 2025, footers still read V 7.0) was readable and is the main source. The guide gives no alloy or composite system for the engines, tanks, interstage, fairing or payload plate, no engine thrust-chamber material, no recovery or reuse hardware (parachute, heat shield, helicopter catch), no separation-ordnance or battery maker names, and no Neutron or Archimedes link. Rutherford thrust values in the guide (5,600 lbf sea level, 5,800 lbf vacuum) differ from older trade-press figures. The first-launch statement comes from Gunter's Space Page. More detail: Rocket Lab's own pages (rocketlabcorp.com/launch/electron, rocketlabusa.com/electron) return HTTP 403 to automated fetches; the Payload User Guide PDF (version 8.0, September 2025, footers still read V 7.0) was readable and is the main source. The guide gives no alloy or composite system for the engines, tanks, interstage, fairing or payload plate, no engine thrust-chamber material, no recovery or reuse hardware (parachute, heat shield, helicopter catch), no separation-ordnance or battery maker names, and no Neutron or Archimedes link. Rutherford thrust values in the guide (5,600 lbf sea level, 5,800 lbf vacuum) differ from older trade-press figures. The first-launch statement comes from Gunter's Space Page.
Collected from public pages and documents, checked 4 Nov 2026.
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