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An Electron first-stage booster is a reusable rocket stage used on the Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle.[1] It is made of a carbon composite developed and manufactured by Rocket Lab. In 2019, Rocket Lab announced plans to recover and reuse the first stage of Electron despite previously dismissing the idea. Flight 16 was the first launch to test recovery procedures followed by flight 20 which, despite a failed primary mission, still achieved a successful Splashdown recovery and flight 22. On 5 April 2022, Rocket Lab announced that flight 26 would feature the first full recovery attempt with a helicopter catch. The flight launched on 2 May 2022 UTC from launch pad 1A in Mahīa. While the Sikorsky S-92 was able to intersect the booster mid-air, the booster was released at the pilot's discretion after an unexpectedly large increase in mass. The booster parachuted into the ocean where it was recovered by ship.
Rocket Lab has not stated or shown any numbering scheme for these boosters, and so the boosters are named in accordance to their flights, 'F' standing for 'Flight'. This means that there is a possibility Rocket Lab has a different naming scheme, and the boosters could have different serial numbers compared to what launch they flew.
List of boosters edit
Inactive Electron/Curie edit
Serial Number | Flight Number | Flight Name | Date | Payload | Mission Status | Landing Status | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F1 | Flight 1 | It's a Test | 25 May 2017 | Humanity Star | Failure (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Destroyed |
F2 | Flight 2 | Still Testing | 21 January 2018 | Humanity Star and Others | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F3 | Flight 3 | It's Business Time | 11 November 2018 | Lemur-2 and Others | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F4 | Flight 4 | This One's for Pickering | 16 December 2018 | ELeNa XIX[2] | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F5 | Flight 5 | Two Thumbs Up | 28 March 2019 | DARPA R3D2 | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F6 | Flight 6 | That's a Funny Looking Cactus | 5 May 2019 | STP-27RD[3] | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F7 | Flight 7 | Make It Rain | 29 June 2019 | BlackSky-3 and Others | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F8 | Flight 8 | Look Ma, No Hands | 19 August 2019 | BRO-1, BlackSky-4 & Pearl White 1 & 2 | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F9 | Flight 9 | As the Crow Flies | 17 October 2019 | Palisade[4] | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F10 | Flight 10 | Running Out of Fingers | 6 December 2019 | ATL-1 and Others | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F11 | Flight 11 | Birds of a Feather | 31 January 2020 | NROL-151 | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F12 | Flight 12 | Don't Stop Me Now | 13 June 2020 | ANDESITE, M2-Pathfinder & 3 NROL Satellites | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F13 | Flight 13 | Pics Or It Didn't Happen | 4 July 2020 | CE-SAT-1B, Flock-4v & Faraday-1 | Failure (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F15 | Flight 15 | I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical | 28 October 2020 | Flock-4e & CE-SAT-2B | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F16 | Flight 16 | Return To Sender | 20 November 2020 | DRAGRACER and Others | Success (LC-1A) | Success (Splashdown) | Retired |
F17 | Flight 17 | The Owl's Night Begins | 15 December 2020 | StriX-α | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F18 | Flight 18 | Another One Leaves The Crust | 20 January 2021 | OHB Cosmos | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F20 | Flight 20 | Running Out of Toes | 15 May 2021 | BlackSky 8 and 9 | Failure (LC-1A) | Success (Splashdown) | Retired |
F21 | Flight 21 | It's a Little Chile Up Here | 29 July 2021 | STP-27RM (Monolith) | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F22 | Flight 22 | Love at First Insight | 18 November 2021 | BlackSky 10 and 11 | Success (LC-1A) | Success (Splashdown) | Retired |
F23 | Flight 23 | A Data With Destiny | 9 December 2021 | BlackSky 14 and 15 | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F24 | Flight 24 | The Owl's Night Continues | 28 February 2022 | StriX-b | Success (LC-1B) | No Attempt | Expended |
F25 | Flight 25 | Without Mission A Beat | 2 April 2022 | BlackSky 16 and 17 | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F26 | Flight 26 | There And Back Again | 2 May 2022 | Various payloads | Success (LC-1A) | Partial Success (Catch) | Retired |
F28 | Flight 28 | Wise One Looks Ahead | 13 July 2022 | NROL-162 | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F29 | Flight 29 | Antipodean Adventure | 4 August 2022 | NROL-199 | Success (LC-1B) | No Attempt | Expended |
F30 | Flight 30 | The Owl Spreads Its Wings | 15 September 2022 | Strix-1 | Success (LC-1B) | No Attempt | Expended |
F31 | Flight 31 | It Argos Up From Here | 7 October 2022 | Argos-4 | Success (LC-1B) | No Attempt | Expended |
F33 | Flight 33 | Virginia is for Launch Lovers | 24 January 2023 | HawkEye 360 x 3 | Success (LC-2) | No Attempt | Expended |
F34 | Flight 34 | Stronger Together | 16 March 2023 | Capella 9 & 10 | Success (LC-2) | No Attempt | Expended |
F36 | Flight 36 | Rocket Like A Hurricane | 8 May 2023 | TROPICS x 2 | Success (LC-1B) | No Attempt | Expended |
F37 | Flight 37 | Coming To A Storm Near You | 26 May 2023 | TROPICS x 2 | Success (LC-1B) | No Attempt | Expended |
F41 | Flight 41 | We Will Never Desert You | 19 September 2023 | Acadia Mission 2 | Failure (LC-1B) | No Attempt | Expended |
F42 | Flight 42 | The Moon God Awakens | 15 December 2023 | QPS-SAR-5 | Success (LC-1B) | No Attempt | Expended |
F44 | Flight 44 | On Closer Inspection | 18 February 2024 | ADRAS-J | Success (LC-1B) | No Attempt | Expended |
Active Electron/Curie edit
Serial Number | Flight Number | Flight Name | Date | Payload | Mission Status | Landing Status | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F32 | Flight 32 | Catch Me If You Can | 4 November 2022 | MATS | Success (LC-1B) | Partial Success (Catch) | Awaiting Possible Reuse |
F35 | Flight 35 | The Beat Goes On | 24 March 2023 | BlackSky 18 & 19 Gen 2 | Success (LC-1B) | Success (Splashdown) | Awaiting Possible Reuse |
F39 | Flight 39 | Baby Come Back | 18 July 2023 | Starling, LEO-3 & Lemur-2 | Success (LC-1B) | Success (Splashdown) | Awaiting Possible Reuse |
F40 | Flight 40 | We Love The Nightlife | 24 August 2023 | Acadia Mission 1 | Success (LC-1B) | Success (Splashdown) | Awaiting Possible Reuse |
F43 | Flight 43 | Four Of A Kind | 31 January 2024 | Skylark | Success (LC-1B) | Success (Splashdown) | Undergoing Inspections |
F45 | Flight 45 | Owl Night Long | 9 March 2024 | Strix | Planned (LC-1B) | No Attempt | Awaiting Launch |
F46 | Flight 46 | Live and Let Fly | 20 March 2024 | NROL-123 | Planned (LC-2) | No Attempt | Awaiting Launch |
Electron/Photon edit
The Photon kick-stage is an optional extra on the Electron launch vehicle allowing for heavier payload capacity or higher altitudes/interplanetary missions. The kick-stage was first used on Electron's 14th flight (Rocket Lab's return to launch after the "Pics Or It Didn't Happen" failure).
Serial Number | Flight Number | Flight Name | Date | Payload | Mission Status | Landing Status | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F14 | Flight 14 | I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical | 31 August 2020 | Sequoia & Photon | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F19 | Flight 19 | They Go Up So Fast | 22 March 2021 | Gunsmoke-J and Others | Success (LC-1A) | No Attempt | Expended |
F27 | Flight 27 | CAPSTONE | 28 June 2022 | CAPSTONE | Success (LC-1) | No Attempt | Expended |
Electron/HASTE edit
The HASTE launch vehicle is a sub-orbital testbed derived from the launch vehicle Electron. It has a third stage for suborbitad deployment, and has an option of different fairings to use on the vehicle. HASTE is used for payloads that do not need an orbital capability, and it also services optional trajectories depending on the customer. Any HASTE launch will always have a first stage that is expended.
Serial Number | Flight Number | Flight Name | Date | Payload | Mission Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HF1 | Flight 38 | Scout’s Arrow | 18 June 2023 | DYNAMO-A | Success (LC-2) |
References edit
- ^ "Reusable Rockets". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "ELeNa XIX Cubesat" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "STP-27RD". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "As The Crow Flies". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2024-02-05.