Rocket Lab has announced a new program that will enable its customers to have their payloads in orbit within 24 hours. The new service is called the Responsive Space Program.
(Photo : ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)
A Soyuz MS-20 space craft is seen on a monitor after undocking from the the International Space Station (ISS), starting the landing of the International space crew including Japanese space tourists Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, at Mission Control Center in Korolyov, outside Moscow, early on December 20, 2021.
As per Interesting Engineering, "responsive launch capability was baked into the design of Electron and our launch sites since day one, and we've made strategic investments into vertical spacecraft manufacturing to enable this," said Peter Beck, the Rocket Lab founder, and CEO.
Companies that wish to send a payload to orbit on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket will need to give more than a day's notice to the firm. Moreover, they will also need to work with Rocket Lab for several months on the weight, measurements, orbit, and other specifications that are necessary for a smooth launch.
However, the launch date doesn't need to be set ahead of time-in fact, the customer can give a day's notice once all the preparations are in place.
The pre-preparation can be executed remotely and the payload can be sent to the launch facility shortly before launch.
According to a statement, once all the details are sorted out, Rocket Lab will develop a tailored, responsive mission plan for every customer. Therefore, the company will be on standby with rockets and satellites that will await notice from their customer to integrate and launch.
Also Read: NASA CAPSTONE is Unreachable, CubeSat Gone Dark in Space
Busy Days Ahead
Rocket Lab has been having such a busy period. Along with their new program, they also launched a tiny CubeSat, the CAPSTONE, towards the moon for NASA.
CAPSTONE is an integral part of NASA's lunar Gateway plans and it will test the stability of the orbit NASA intends to use for its lunar outpost.
Furthermore, Rocket Lab continues to develop outstanding innovations. Just recently, they also demonstrated a first-stage rocket booster with a helicopter, which makes it the second company after SpaceX to develop a partially reusable rocket.
The company also has the much-awaited launch of the Neutron rocket which, will be fully reusable and will use a Hungry Hungry Hippo-inspired payload fairing.
Sending Payloads to Orbit
The new Responsive Space Program gives companies with payloads a new and innovative way of sending them to orbit. This new program will definitely make space more accessible to those companies that want to launch a satellite themselves.
Not only will Rocket Lab's new program help them to launch payloads faster and more efficiently, but it will also be a boon for space companies that are based on the ground.
Many of these companies have satellites and payloads that they wish to send to orbit, but they don't need to wait around for weeks and months until their payload is ready to fly on a rocket. Therefore, Rocket Lab's new program will also save them a lot of time.
Related Article: Rocket Lab Tries Catching an Electron Rocket Booster with Helicopter
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Written by April Fowell
