Brenda Marie Rivers
Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle is slated to send satellite payloads from NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office and the Australian government to orbit as part of the “Don’t Stop Me Now†mission in early June.
Rocket Lab said Thursday that Electron will lift off from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand by June 11 following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
Electron will carry a cube satellite for NASA’s “Ad-Hoc Network Demonstration for Extended Satellite-Based Inquiry and Other Team Endeavors†program aimed at driving research into the Earth’s magnetic field.
The rocket will also send three NRO small satellites and the M2 Pathfinder satellite developed by the University of New South Wales Canberra Space to support the Australian government’s efforts to deploy in-orbit radio reconfiguration technologies.
Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in the Mahia Peninsula has implemented stricter health regulations in preparation for the launch, the company noted.
The mission, originally scheduled for March 27, will serve as Electron’s 12th launch.
