The first stage engines deliver 162 kN (36,000 lb f) of thrust and the second stage delivers 22 kN (4,900 lb f) of thrust. There are nine Rutherford engines on the first stage and one vacuum-optimized version on the second stage. The second stage uses three batteries which are "hot swapped", two of the batteries are jettisoned once depleted to shed mass. The electric pumps are powered by lithium-polymer batteries. īoth stages use the Rutherford rocket engine, the first electric-pump-fed engine to power an orbital rocket. The main body of the rocket is constructed using a lightweight carbon composite material. Since then, Electron has launched successfully over thirty times.Įlectron uses two stages with the same diameter (1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)) filled with RP-1/ LOX propellant. The first commercial launch of Electron, and the third launch overall, occurred on 11 November 2018, in a mission called "It's Business Time". During its second flight on 21 January 2018, Electron reached orbit and deployed three CubeSats, in a mission called "Still Testing". The first rocket was launched on in a flight called "It's a Test", reaching space but not achieving orbit due to a glitch in communication equipment on the ground. In December 2016, Electron completed flight qualification. The Flight 26 (F26) booster has featured the first helicopter catch recovery attempt. Although the rocket was designed to be expendable, Rocket Lab has recovered the first stage twice and is working towards the capability of reusing the booster. Electron is often flown with a kickstage or Rocket Lab's Photon spacecraft. Its Rutherford engines are the first electric-pump-fed engine to power an orbital-class rocket. Electron was developed to service the commercial small satellite launch market. Kick stage (optional) – Photon (modified)Įlectron is a two-stage, partially recoverable orbital launch vehicle developed by Rocket Lab, an American aerospace company with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. Viscous liquid monopropellant ( AP, Al, Polydimethylsiloxane)
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