Electron The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no kn ...

is a two-stage small-lift launch vehicle built and operated by

Rocket Lab Rocket Lab is a public American aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider, with a New Zealand subsidiary. The company operates lightweight Electron orbital rockets, which provide dedicated launches for small satellites. Rocket Lab also ...

. The rocket has flown 32 times with 29 successes and 3 failures. The first flight, known as "It's a Test", launched on 25 May 2017. The mission failed due to a glitch in communication equipment on the ground. Successful follow-on missions, including "Still Testing", "It's Business Time" and "This One's For Pickering", delivered multiple small payloads to

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

. The 13th mission, "Pics Or It Didn't Happen", failed during flight. Rocket Lab subsequently returned to flight, launching the 14th mission two months later. The 20th mission, dubbed "Running Out Of Toes", experienced a failure just right after second stage ignition. Flight 26 was the first Electron flight to attempt a full catch recovery using a mid-air helicopter catch.

Launch statistics

Launch outcomes

Launch sites

Booster tests and recoveries

Rocket configurations

Past launches

2017–2018

Electron experienced its first successful launch in January 2018, and launched their first mission for NASA in December 2018.

2019

First launch for the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

in May.

2020

First launch for the National Reconnaissance Office in January 2020. First launch of Photon kickstage in August 2020.

2021

First launch for US Space Force in July 2021.

2022

Upcoming launches

In July 2019, Rocket Lab expected to have launches every two weeks in 2020. In June 2020, with a new Electron launch vehicle built every 18 days, Rocket Lab was planning to deliver monthly launches for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021, including the company's first launch from Wallops LC-2 in 2021 and a mission to the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

aboard Electron and Rocket Lab's spacecraft bus platform Photon in 2021.

2023

2024

References

External links

Electron Website

Rocket Lab Completed Launches

Rocket Lab Next Mission
{{Rocket Lab Rocket Lab