American private aviation company Rocket Lab successfully launched the Tsukuyomi-1 radar satellite of the Japanese iQPS company into orbit using the Electron rocket. This was stated in an official message page Rocket Lab on social network X (formerly Twitter).
Electron was launched from the spaceport in New Zealand and delivered Tsukuyomi-1 to the desired orbit 575 kilometers above the Earth in 57 minutes.
The company has resumed launches for the first time since the crash on September 19; This accident resulted in the loss of the spacecraft and its payload, Californian organization Capella Space’s Acadia radar satellite. During the previous launch, the first stage of the Electron rocket operated normally, but the second stage’s engine shut down immediately after ignition and the device failed to reach the required altitude.
In the investigation of the incident, it was revealed that an electric arc occurred in the power supply and short-circuited the batteries. It was caused by an undetected defect in the insulation system.
Electron’s latest launch marks Rocket Lab’s 10th rocket launch of 2023, setting a new record for the company compared to the previous year’s nine launches.
Previously, Chinese startup Galactic Energy was in first place suffered Ceres-1 rocket launch failure.
Source: Gazeta
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