Rocket Lab set a milestone by launching their thirtieth Electron rocket into orbit on September 15. Instead of several small satellites that Electron usually launches, this flight only carried one large 150-kilogram satellite. The payload on last night’s mission was yet another radar satellite for repeat customer Synspective out of Japan. Rocket Lab has now launched three satellites for the company.

The Owl Spreads its Wings launched from LC-1B at Rocket Lab’s launch facility on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand and headed south. The first two stages of the Electron rocket delivered the kick stage and payload into an elliptical transfer orbit. From there the kick stage delivered the StriX-1 satellite into its just under 600-kilometer orbit. During the kick stage’s long coast to apogee, the webcast switched to an animation and funky space music, similar to SpaceX.

The launch set a few more milestones for Rocket Lab, featuring the 300th Rutherford engine to fly and 150th satellite Electron has put into orbit.

Rocket Lab has recovered a handful of those Rutherford engines from first stages that have splashed down in the ocean. They recently put one on the test stand after refurbishment and It worked just like an engine straight off the production line, a good sign for their future reuse plans.

More Information

Rocket Lab press release