Brenda Marie Rivers
Rocket Lab recently delivered a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency satellite into orbit using the Electron launch vehicle, which the company had developed.
The Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 1 at the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand, carrying with it DARPA's Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration spacecraft, Rocket Lab announced Thursday.
The R3D2 satellite housed a prototype reflect array antenna made of a Kapton membrane, making it possible to store the equipment in a compact manner.
The purpose of the DARPA mission is to space-qualify the antenna, which, if proven viable, could provide small spacecraft with the communications capabilities of larger ones.
Peter Beck, CEO and founder of Rocket Lab, congratulated his team for launching R3D2 "on time and on target" and went on to emphasize how Electron was "the perfect launch vehicle" for the mission.
The R3D2 launch was the company's first for the year and its 25th satellite deployment overall.
