Rocket Lab - Flight 13 / “Pics Or It Didn’t Happen” logo.
July 5, 2020
“Pics Or It Didn’t Happen” launch
Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle launched the “Pics Or It Didn’t Happen” mission from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, on July 4, 2020, at 21:19 UTC (05 July, at 09:19 NZST). Due to issues with the second stage, the mission failed to reach orbit.
The “Pics Or It Didn't Happen” mission was supposed to deliver seven small satellites to a 500km circular low Earth orbit, including Canon Electronics Inc.'s CE-SAT-IB designed to demonstrate Canon's Earth-imaging technology with high-resolution and wide-angle cameras. The mission was Electron’s 13th launch.
Electron “Pics Or It Didn’t Happen” launch failed to reach orbit
Rocket Lab said it "lost the flight" of a commercial rocket carrying satellites on Sunday after launching from New Zealand.
A commercial satellite-carrying rocket was "lost" after launching a launch pad in New Zealand on Sunday, company owner Rocket Lab said.
"We lost the flight late during the mission," Rocket Lab founder and director Peter Beck wrote on Twitter.
"I very much regret having failed" to put our customers' satellites into orbit today. We assure you that we will identify the problem, correct it and return to the launch pad soon, ”he added.
Peter Beck on Twitter
Rocket Lab presents itself as an American company with its headquarters in New Zealand. Among its investors are the American companies Khosla Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Lockheed Martin, Promus Ventures and Data Collective.
The failed mission was the 13th launch of Rocket Lab. Rocket Lab nicknamed the launch “Pics Or It Didn’t Happen.”
In a statement published on its website, Rocket Lab indicates that it encountered an "anomaly" after four minutes of flight. The company says it is working with the United States aeronautical authorities to identify the cause of the incident.
The rocket carried seven satellites for Spaceflight, Canon Electronics, Planet and In-Space Missions, said Peter Beck.
Rocket Lab: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/
Credits: Images and video courtesy of Rocket Lab/SciNews/Text: ATS/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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