Rocket Lab is currently targeting no sooner than December thirteenth for the launch of the mission, The Moon God Awakens from the Mahia Peninsula in Recent Zealand.
The corporate is within the midst of its return to flight following the mishap that occurred during its prior launch in September 2023.
Payload integration is complete for our forty second Electron launch!
We’ve got a final step to clear before launch day – completing a wet dress rehearsal to verify all systems are ready for lift-off. As such, we’re currently targeting no sooner than 13 Dec NZT for the launch of The… pic.twitter.com/0dz60wkxrw
— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) November 26, 2023
Most recently, they announced that they’ve integrated the payload from iQPS onto their payload adapter, which will even utilize Rocket Lab’s Mark II Motorized Lightband because the separation method from the kickstage.
The payload from iQPS is a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite named TSUKUYOMI-I. The satellite shall be launched right into a 42-degree orbital inclination. Currently, iQPS has one other SAR satellite in orbit, but this shall be the 2nd of a planned 36 satellite constellation to be launched. The satellites shall be able to snapping a photograph of specific points across the planet roughly every 10 minutes.
As for Rocket Lab, which recently released its Q3 financial results, it revealed the reason behind the difficulty that resulted within the lack of the last mission. With the 1.6 seconds of information they gathered before communication was lost with the 2nd stage of Electron, the corporate was in a position to determine an electrical arc cut power to the battery packs in an incredibly rare set of conditions where an arc can form in a vacuum.
Rocket Lab has made its corrective changes and is moving towards its tenth flight of the 12 months and forty second mission overall. As of this writing, they will not be planning to get well the primary stage. If this launch gets off the bottom successfully, it’ll be essentially the most launches in a single calendar 12 months for the corporate.