Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Rocket Lab's Modest Launch Is Giant Leap For Small Rocket Business (nytimes.com)

Posted by msmash on from the you-hear-that-mr-anderson dept.

Reader Iwastheone shares a report: A small rocket from a little-known company lifted off Sunday from the east coast of New Zealand, carrying a clutch of tiny satellites. That modest event -- the first commercial launch by a U.S.-New Zealand company known as Rocket Lab -- could mark the beginning of a new era in the space business, where countless small rockets pop off from spaceports around the world. This miniaturization of rockets and spacecraft places outer space within reach of a broader swath of the economy.

The rocket, called the Electron, is a mere sliver compared to the giant rockets that Elon Musk, of SpaceX, and Jeffrey P. Bezos, of Blue Origin, envisage using to send people into the solar system. It is just 56 feet tall and can carry only 500 pounds into space. But Rocket Lab is aiming for markets closer to home. "We're FedEx," said Peter Beck, the New Zealand-born founder and chief executive of Rocket Lab. "We're a little man that delivers a parcel to your door." Behind Rocket Lab, a host of start-up companies are also jockeying to provide transportation to space for a growing number of small satellites. The payloads include constellations of telecommunications satellites that would provide the world with ubiquitous internet access.

The payload of this mission, which Rocket Lab whimsically named "It's Business Time," offered a glimpse of this future: two ship-tracking satellites for Spire Global; a small climate- and environment-monitoring satellite for GeoOptics; a small probe built by high school students in Irvine, Calif., and a demonstration version of a drag sail that would pull defunct satellites out of orbit.

36 comments

  1. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 0

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  2. LOL by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

    Since when is FedEx the "little guy"?

    --
    Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  3. Useless by 110010001000 · · Score: 0

    Unless their rockets are going to take us to Mars and get us off this rock stuck in a gravity well, they are useless.

    1. Re:Useless by 110010001000 · · Score: 2

      Don't worry. Our species is unlikely to survive five more years anyway. But Musk is going to take us all to Mars on his holy rocket. That is, once he figures out how to build a $35k electric vehicle and his tunnel system is complete.

    2. Re:Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't worry. Our species is unlikely to survive five more years anyway. But Musk is going to take us all to Mars on his holy rocket. That is, once he figures out how to build a $35k electric vehicle and his tunnel system is complete.

      Man, if only it were possible to set up some sort of organization where many people could come and provide time and expertise in exchange for money, and that way these efforts could be continued without Musk's personal attention.

      Ah, well...I guess until someone invents such a way of organization people and their effort we can only gape in wonder as only one thing ever gets done at a time.

    3. Re:Useless by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't say useless, but overhyped. They're currently doing the same as a half-century-old Black Brant, which has a, well, half-century track record already in place.

  4. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 0

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  5. Re: Oh yeah, that great market demand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This story leaked on 4uchan a long time ago

  6. "It's business time" by sichbo · · Score: 2

    Hilarious :) no doubt named after the kiwi song - https://flightoftheconchords.b...

    1. Re:"It's business time" by edi_guy · · Score: 2

      I so miss their television show. I still quote from it regularly and no one knows what I'm talking about.

    2. Re:"It's business time" by ClarkMills · · Score: 1

      They really should have launched Wednesday"...

      FedEx... Time to bring back ICBM numbers in our .sig's :)

  7. Tiny cheap satellites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Because we don't have enough spacejunk already.

    1. Re:Tiny cheap satellites by schizz69 · · Score: 1

      Actually, their 3rd stage is specifically engineered to de-orbit itself to prevent exactly this problem.

  8. Finally! by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    "This miniaturization of rockets and spacecraft places outer space within reach of a broader swath of the economy. "

    Now the drug cartels can use their own satellites to spy on the border in real-time.

    1. Re:Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought you were going to say, to make drug drops via ballistic rocket, but spy on the border who knows that may work to.

    2. Re:Finally! by Agripa · · Score: 1

      "This miniaturization of rockets and spacecraft places outer space within reach of a broader swath of the economy. "

      Now the drug cartels can use their own satellites to spy on the border in real-time.

      There is a book about it. Ignore the cover art.

      https://www.amazon.com/Kings-H...

  9. The FedEx analogy is apt by edi_guy · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Rocket Lab is charging $10k per pound to orbit while SpaceX is at $2.5 lb. But as they said in TFA in today's world if you have a small satellite, you have to wait to hitch a ride on a bigger rocket. And depending on the orbit you need, the size of your payload, the type of the primary payload, you could be in for a long wait.

    Rocket Lab is offering the "Overnight" equivalent option where you can get your payload in orbit much faster, but at greater cost. Will be interesting if there is indeed a economically market for this. Are we going to see school PTA's pulling $50k fundraisers to get the science class' cubesat in orbit?

    1. Re:The FedEx analogy is apt by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

      Are we going to see school PTA's pulling $50k fundraisers to get the science class' cubesat in orbit?

      Probably not - because $50k won't buy a launch. (A launch costs $5 million.) Just as with small payloads today, they'll have to wait to hitch a ride on someone else's launch.

  10. Coolest part - electric turbopumps by necro81 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The thing that I find coolest about the Electron rocket is that the turbopumps, which feed fuel and oxidizer into the combustion chamber, are powered by electric motors, rather than burning some of that fuel/oxygen mix in a staged combustion cycle.

    On the plus side: you avoid a huge amount of complexity by ditching the preburner (and its part count, weight, fuel-oxidizer separation issues, temperature extremes). You also have very precise and immediate throttle control. On the downside, you have to carry a sizable battery pack, which has much lower energy density.

    I don't know if their approach will scale up particularly well, but at this scale it certainly seems like a win. And, if nothing else, it is encouraging to see companies trying new approaches.

    1. Re:Coolest part - electric turbopumps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Not just the turbopumps, the entire rocket is made out of carbon fiber composite. Being a company from New Zealand, RocketLab does have access to some pretty interesting research.

      (The engine is also 3D printed, but I don't think that's anything new as SpX also does the same for the Merlin IIRC)

      Unfortunately, while the rocket is light and the turbopumps can throttle faster, the Electron is still thrown away. I really hope they can plan some recovery plans, but it looks like it isn't on the roadmap for now.

    2. Re:Coolest part - electric turbopumps by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

      On the downside, you have to carry a sizable battery pack, which has much lower energy density.

      The Electron gets around this (to an extent), by jettisoning part of the battery pack during ascent. (But if jettisoning fails, the mission fails...)

  11. Re:Oh yeah, that great market demand by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    Like OTRAG's problems had anything to do with market demand...

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  12. Just what we need by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Oh great! An easier way to put more things into orbit. There are a couple of companies planning to put thousands and thousands of satellites into orbit for Internet access. Now all of these companies are starting up to let just about anyone to put their own satellite into orbit. Sure, they will fall out of orbit eventually but low Earth orbit is going to get very crowded in the near future.

    1. Re:Just what we need by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ironically, one of the experiments launched on this flight was one that will hopefully help clean-up space junk.

  13. I weigh less than 500lbs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unfortunately, I also have less than $10k for every pound I weigh.

    1. Re: I weigh less than 500lbs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      - not creimer.

  14. New Zealand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not bad for a country of only 4 Million or so people.

    1. Re:New Zealand by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

      Rocket Lab is a California company, with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. Not exactly New Zealand innovation, just collaboration.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank
    2. Re:New Zealand by Michael+Woodhams · · Score: 2

      New Zealand innovation, California money.

      According to Wikipedia: Founded 2006 in New Zealand by a New Zealander, and funded by another New Zealander. They launched a sounding rocket in 2009, proving their rocket design. First outside funding mentioned was in 2013. (I take no responsibility for Wikipedia's potted history being complete or accurate.)

      I'm sure that once the money came along, so did extra expertise, so it isn't 100% New Zealand innovation, but that is where the big steps were taken.

      --
      Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
  15. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 0

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  16. Crowded market by Michael+Woodhams · · Score: 1

    There are many companies hoping to compete in this market. Starting from this wikipedia page, I find

    (rocket, company, country, first or planned first launch date, payload to low Earth orbit)
    Operational:
    Kuaizhou 1A, ExPace, China, 2017, 300kg
    Electron, Rocket Lab, New Zealand and USA, 2018, 225kg
    Zhuque-1, Landspace Technology, China, 2018, 300kg

    In development:
    OS-M2, OneSpace, China, 2018, 205kg
    Vector-R, Vector Launch, USA, 2018, 60kg
    Vector-H, Vector Launch, USA, 2019, 160kg
    SSLV, ISRO, India, 2019, 500kg
    Bloostar, Zero 2 Infinity, Spain, 2019, 140kg
    Hyperbola-1, i-Space, China, 2019, 300kg
    Arion 2, PLD Space, Spain, 2021, 150kg

    I think there are a few more too. Payloads are not necessarily to the same orbit, so are only an approximate comparison of capability. I haven't fact checked this list. Future launch dates are of course speculative.

    --
    Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
  17. Re:wow by mcswell · · Score: 1

    Riiiiiiiiiiight... how's your medication?

  18. grapefruit by mcswell · · Score: 1

    As Khrushchev said

  19. It's Business Time by thisisauniqueid · · Score: 1

    This is named after the Flight of the Conchords song.