Spaceflight Inc. is making ready for his or her 50th mission, which can launch aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket no sooner than April 22.
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The RL-9 mission, known as “There and Back Again,” is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Following this launch, Spaceflight may have efficiently launched 448 spacecraft throughout 50 missions throughout a world community of launch automobiles.
Spaceflight has already had a busy yr with notable wins, having launched 32 payloads throughout 5 missions, together with its first launch with Astra in March. Earlier this yr, NASA chosen Spaceflight to supply launch companies for the company’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) missions.
The firm additionally signed a multi-launch settlement with long-time IoT constellation buyer Astrocast to supply ongoing launch companies. In addition, Spaceflight has been acknowledged with quite a few awards, together with the corporate’s break-through Sherpa orbital switch automobile (OTV) that has been acknowledged as a finalist in GeekWire Awards’ Innovation of the Year Award .
Additionally, Spaceflight will lean on the learnings from its profitable launches of Sherpa in 2021 to launch OTVs on quite a few upcoming SpaceX missions this yr. Spaceflight efficiently launched three Sherpa OTVs final yr, deploying greater than 50 buyer spacecraft and launching the business’s first electrical OTV.
In 2022, Spaceflight plans to execute 15 missions and debut the following two variations in its Sherpa OTV program – Sherpa-AC, which augments the bottom Sherpa mannequin with key capabilities, together with a flight laptop, angle information and management plus {an electrical} energy system, and Sherpa-ES, which can launch aboard the much-anticipated, lunar slingshot mission, GEO Pathfinder.
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“Our 50th launch represents our persistent innovation and commitment to our customers’ success over the last decade,” stated Curt Blake, CEO and president of Spaceflight. “Throughout the years, we’ve continued to provide reliable and flexible launch and in-space transportation services, pioneering rideshare solutions and expanding mission opportunities to our customers. 2022 is set to be a monumental year for Spaceflight and we are thrilled to execute more groundbreaking missions on behalf of our customers.”