Rocket Lab Wants to Deliver Satellites to the Moon
Rocket Lab has started to transform itself into an operational launch company, and right now, it has 5 five successful Electron missions. They promised to do a couple more before the year ends. In doing that, it’s the first private company to manufacture a low-cost rocket for small satellites.
More than that, it continues with the excellent work and setting milestones. They had the “As the Crow Flies” mission earlier this month, in which the company has set a new altitude record, sending a 20kg payload to a 1,200km circular orbit. How the company which launches from New Zealand has hit a record much higher.
Rocket Lab has announced on Monday that its “Photon” upper stage will be able to send small payloads to the Moon. They said that the small satellites play an essential role in finding details and providing communications and navigation infrastructure in order to support getting people back to the Moon. This comes from Peter Beck, the chief executive of the company. These payloads are also significant because they are pathfinders, which is a massive deal for future missions.
A spokesperson from Rocket Lab has talked about a new service launched on an Electron rocket, which would be able to send about 30 km into the lunar orbit. It should be available in the fourth quarter of 2020. When it comes to pricing, they did not give any details whatsoever. They only said that pricing is strongly tied to the requirements of the mission. But they want to bring impossible tasks for attainable prices.
The “Photon” spacecraft is the small third stage for the Electron rocket, which comes with in-space maneuvering for payloads. It also combines power, propulsion, and attitude determination, even control.
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