These Small Rockets Are Designed To Launch Small Satellites

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket is smaller than most, built to carry tiny CubeSats. Rocket Lab

Wired: The Little Rocket That Could Sends Real Satellites to Space

The launch company Rocket Lab has amusing names for its missions. The first, in May, was called “It’s a Test” (it was). When the staff debated what to call the second launch of their diminutive Electron rocket, so sized (and priced) specifically to carry small satellites to space, they said, “Well, we’re still testing, aren’t we?”

They were. And so “Still Testing” became the name of Rocket Lab’s second launch, which took place on January 20, at around 8:45 pm Eastern Standard Time. In December, the company canceled multiple attempts before rescheduling the launch window for 2018. The livestreamed rocket lifted off from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand, headed for someplace with an even better view.

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CSN Editor: They want the small payload-satellite niche. More signs on how the commercialization of space continues.