Last time we talked about Rocket Lab, we said they were setting records. Well, they keep doing that, and they set another record with their eighth Electron launch of 2022, and thirty-first overall, It Argos Up From Here, on October 7th. The launch took place just after sunrise local time, providing stunning views of the rocket plume as it ascended. 

Like all of their launches so far, this one launched from their spaceport on the Mahia peninsula in New Zealand. However, instead of the usual group of smaller payloads, the payload on this Electron was a single large satellite named GAzelle, also called OTB 3. 

GAzelle was built by General Atomics and will test a single instrument: a data relay system called Argos-4. Argos-4 is the next version of a hosted transmitter carried on many meteorological satellites. These transmitters relay data from sensors on the surface, such as ocean buoys, commercial aircraft, and even animals tagged with a GPS transmitter, to a central location for processing. GAzelle also carries a small radiation monitoring instrument. 

Another Argos-4 instrument will fly on India’s Oceansat 3, which is scheduled to launch later this month, and ESA’s METOP-SG-B satellites, among others. 

Rocket Lab has plans for at least one launch a month for the rest of the year, including the first launch from their newest pad at Wallops Island in Virginia, USA.

More Information

Rocket Lab press release