Rocket Lab’s seventh and final launch of the year provided a small radar observation satellite in orbit for Synspective, a Japanese startup planning a fleet of 30 or more Earth imaging spacecraft that will provide day and night images of cities around the world.
The kick-stage of the liquid-powered Electron rocket put Synspective’s StriX-α demonstration satellite into roughly 500-kilometer (500-kilometer) solar-synchronous polar Earth orbit about an hour after launch, Rocket Lab said in a statement. .
The 18-meter-high Electron missile took off from Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula, located on New Zealand’s North Island, at 5:09 a.m. EST (1009 GMT; 11:09 p.m. New Zealand time).
A live video webcast from Rocket Lab showed the Electron shooting into the night sky, heading south from Mahia on a trajectory toward the mission’s intended orbit.
Nine Rutherford engines, consuming kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants, brought the Electron launcher to the upper atmosphere with more than 50,000 pounds of thrust. The first stage stopped and separated from flight after about two and a half minutes, giving way to the Electron’s second stage motor to propel the rocket into a temporary parking path.
Synspective’s StriX-α (StriX-Alpha) spacecraft, weighing about 330 pounds (150 kilograms), was mounted in a modified cockpit for launch on Tuesday.
The expanded fairing, with four notches to match the cube-shaped StriX-α spacecraft, was the first use of the company’s larger fairing options recently introduced alongside several other vehicle performance enhancements. The upgrades include improvements in battery technology, allowing the Electron rocket to deliver larger payloads into orbit.
With the enhancements, the Electron missile can transport up to 660 pounds (300 kilograms) on missions to low-altitude orbits, or 440 pounds (200 kg) to 310-mile-high solar synchronous orbits, a destination favored by much Earth. observation satellites.
That represents an increase of about 33 percent in payload lift capacity. The enhancements help offset the effect of adding parachutes and recovery equipment to the Electron’s first stage.
The StriX-α satellite is Synspective’s first synthetic aperture radar satellite. The Tokyo-based company was founded in 2018 and developed its satellite technology with the help of the Japanese government.
Synspective says its planned fleet of 30 radar imaging satellites will be primarily for commercial use in surveying cities and urban infrastructure. The company says it has raised $ 100 million from Japanese investors since it was founded nearly three years ago.
StriX-α, a demonstrator, is about one-tenth the size of a conventional large radar imaging satellite. The deployable antenna, which was folded for launch, is approximately 5 meters long.
“Features, including both observation and data acquisition, will be verified in the coming months,” Synspective said in a statement following Tuesday’s launch.
Synspective is one of several companies planning to build radar satellite constellations for Earth imaging. Finland-based ICEYE and California-based Capella Space have already launched several small satellites with advanced radar payloads.
Satellites with synthetic aperture radar instruments can image the Earth’s surface day and night. Radar cameras can also peer through clouds and storms that block optical cameras’ view.
The StriX constellation has a ground resolution of 1 to 3 meters, or 3 to 10 feet, according to Synspective.
A second StriX satellite, called StriX-β (StriX-Beta), will be launched in 2021.
“In 2022, Synspective will launch four commercial satellites, with the goal of building and operating a system that will enable large-scale, high-frequency ground observation with a constellation of 30 satellites,” the company said in a statement.
“Congratulations to the Synspective team for the successful deployment of their first satellite,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO. “We are proud to continue to provide special launch opportunities for small satellite customers such as Synspective. Electron truly offers tailor-made access to space, allowing our clients to choose exactly when to launch and according to their specific mission parameters. “
“The efforts and hard work of both the Rocket Lab and Synspective teams allowed us to achieve a successful launch as planned, despite the difficult environment of COVID-19,” said Motoyuki Arai, founder and CEO of Synspective. “With the launch of StriX-α, Synspective will be able to demonstrate its satellite capabilities and data processing technology.
“This is the first step towards our constellation of 30 satellites and along with the development of our solutions, a full business expansion will begin,” Arai said in a statement. “Starting with this success, we will get tangibly closer to reaching an advanced world, expanding people’s understanding and learning capabilities with new data and technologies.”
Rocket Lab did not attempt to restore the Electron’s first stage on Tuesday, after the company first picked up an Electron booster from a previous launch last month. Rocket Lab strives to ultimately helicopter capture boosters that fall under parachutes for renovation and reuse.
Rocket Lab plans to resume stage recovery with the next Electron launch in early 2021.
Tuesday’s launch marked the 17th flight of Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle and the company’s seventh and final mission of 2020, breaking Rocket Lab’s record of six missions in 2019.
Rocket Lab says its plans for 2021 include even more flights, with the company’s first mission from a new launch site on Wallops Island, Virginia, more recovery efforts, and the launch of a small NASA satellite to the moon.
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