Rocket Lab Electron

Electron

Electron launching TROPICS in 2023
Function	partially Reusable orbital launcher
Manufacturer	Rocket Lab
Country of origin	New Zealand[1] United States[2][3][4]
Project cost	US$100 million[5]
Cost per launch	About US$7.5 million[6][7]
Size
Height	18 m (59 ft)[8]
Diameter	1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)[8]
Mass	12.5 t (28,000 lb)[9]
Stages	2–3[8][10]
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	Original: 225 kg (496 lb)[11] Updated: 300 kg (660 lb)[11]
Payload to SSO
Mass	Original: 150 kg (330 lb)[11] Updated: 200 kg (440 lb)[11]
Associated rockets
Comparable	Shavit, Kaituozhe-1, Unha, Prime, Miura 5,SSLV
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Māhia LC-1A & 1B (active) MARS LC-2 (active) SaxaVord (proposed) Sutherland (proposed)[12]
Total launches	46
Success(es)	42
Failure(s)	4
First flight	May 25, 2017; 6 years ago (2017-05-25)
Last flight	23 April 2024 (Active)
First stage
Height	12.1 m (40 ft)
Diameter	1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)[8]
Powered by	9 × Rutherford[8]
Maximum thrust	Sea level: 224.3 kN (50,400 lbf)[8] Vacuum: 234 kN (53,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	311 s (3.05 km/s)[8]
Propellant	RP-1/LOX[8]
Second stage
Height	2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Diameter	1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)[8]
Powered by	1 × Rutherford[8]
Maximum thrust	Vacuum: 25.8 kN (5,800 lbf)[8]
Specific impulse	343 s (3.36 km/s)[8]
Propellant	RP-1/LOX[8]
Kick stage (optional) – Photon
Powered by	1 × Curie[10]
Maximum thrust	Vacuum: 0.12 kN (27 lbf)[10]
Propellant	Viscous liquid monopropellant (AP, Al, Polydimethylsiloxane)[citation needed]
Kick stage (optional) – Photon (modified)
Powered by	1 × HyperCurie[13]
Maximum thrust	Vacuum: 0.4 kN (90 lbf)[14]
Specific impulse	310 s (3.0 km/s)[14]
Propellant	unspecified hypergolic bi-propellant
[edit on Wikidata]

Electron is a two-stage, partially reusable orbital launch vehicle developed by Rocket Lab, an American aerospace company with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary.^[15][16] Electron was developed to service the commercial small satellite launch market.^[17] Its Rutherford engines are the first electric-pump-fed engine to power an orbital-class rocket.^[18] Electron is often flown with a kickstage or Rocket Lab's Photon spacecraft. Although the rocket was designed to be expendable, Rocket Lab has recovered the first stage twice and is working towards the capability of reusing the booster.^[19] The Flight 26 (F26) booster has featured the first helicopter catch recovery attempt.

In December 2016, Electron completed flight qualification. The first rocket was launched on 25 May 2017 in a flight called "It's a Test",^[20] reaching space but not achieving orbit due to a glitch in communication equipment on the ground.^[21][22] During its second flight on 21 January 2018, Electron reached orbit and deployed three CubeSats, in a mission called "Still Testing".^[23] The first commercial launch of Electron, and the third launch overall, occurred on 11 November 2018, in a mission called "It's Business Time".^[24] Since then, Electron has launched successfully 41 times, with an additional 4 failures, for a grand total of 45 launches.