Function Orbital launch vehicle Country of origin New Zealand Height 17 m (56 ft) | Manufacturer Rocket Lab Cost per launch USD 4.9 Million Diameter 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) | |
Electron is a two-stage orbital rocket launcher developed by Rocket Lab to cover the commercial very small satellite launch segment (CubeSats). The rocket use two same diameter (1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)) stages filled with RP-1/LOX propellant. It uses the electrically pump-fed Rutherford rocket engine, the first of this cycle, on both stages, nine in the first and one vacuum optimized for the second. It is designed to launch a 150 kg (330 lb) payload to a 500 km Sun-synchronous orbit for an expected USD 4.9 Million, a price point that the company hopes will enable a hundred launches per year. In December 2016, Rocket Lab announced the Electron had completed flight qualification and would begin test flights in 2017.
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Electron (rocket) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA