Matthew Nelson
Rocket Lab has handed over to Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport the Electron launch vehicle in preparation for a U.S. Space Force mission in the third quarter of the year.
Electron underwent integrated systems tests and a static fire demonstration on the first stage’s nine Rutherford engines, the company said Wednesday.
The vehicle will carry the STP-27RM Monolith mission, an instrument built to validate the capacity of small satellites to assist large aperture payloads that will track space weather. Rocket Lab will employ the Autonomous Flight Termination System to lift off Electron from Launch Complex 2.
AFTS works to conclude an off-nominal flight through the use of GPS. The firm is slated to complete a NASA accreditation for the Autonomous Flight Termination System prior to the target launch date.
