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Showing posts from January, 2021

Microsatellite Launched To Orbit In Its 1st Mission Of 2021 By Rocket Lab

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  That payload, which is a communications satellite for the European space technology company OHB Group, was successfully deployed about 70 minutes after the launch. After it is functional, the microsatellite will enable certain frequencies to complement future services from orbit, according to Rocket Lab representatives about today’s mission, which they dubbed “Another One Leaves the Crust.” “Another One Leaves the Crust” was the overall 18th mission for the 58-foot-tall Electron, which is offering dedicated rides for small satellites since 2018. The rocket has now carried a total of 97 spacecraft to orbit. Electron is a dispensable rocket, but that will soon change if everything goes in accordance to plan. Rocket Lab wishes to reuse Electron first stages, which will be plucked out of the sky with a helicopter as they’re returning to Earth post-launch. Electron is very small to make vertical powered landings like those done by the initial stages of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Electron c