{"id":187128,"date":"2025-12-16T07:11:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T07:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/187128\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T07:11:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T07:11:08","slug":"rocket-lab-electron-rocket-aborts-liftoff-at-engine-ignition-spaceflight-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/187128\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab Electron rocket aborts liftoff at engine ignition \u2013 Spaceflight Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A Rocket Lab Electron rocket stands at Launch Complex 1 ahead of the flight of the \u2018Bridging the Swarm\u2019 mission for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Image: Rocket Lab<\/p>\n

Update Dec. 16, 1:26 am EST (0626 UTC): Rocket Lab said they aborted the mission on Dec. 15\/16 after \u201cone of Electron\u2019s thousands of sensors noticed out-of-family data and called time on lift-off, exactly as it was designed to do. Team is working the straightforward fix now and will select a new launch date shortly.<\/p>\n

Original story:<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab is poised to close out 2025 with a trio of Electron rocket launches across its three pads in New Zealand and the United States. If all three launch, this would represent the most rapid sequence of Electron missions to date.<\/p>\n

The company launched the \u2018RASISE and Shine\u2019 mission for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) at 0309 UTC on Dec. 14. Next up, less than 48-hours later, is a mission from South Korea, which was originally set to fly on Dec. 11.<\/p>\n

That mission, dubbed \u2018Bridging the Swarm,\u2019 is scheduled to launch no earlier than 1:55 p.m. NZDT \/ 0055 UTC on Dec. 16 (7:45 p.m. EST on Dec. 15). Rocket Lab will have live coverage of the mission beginning about 20 minutes prior to liftoff.<\/p>\n

This launch is for the Satellite Technology Research Center (SaTReC) located within the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).<\/p>\n

Onboard the Electron rocket is the Neonsat-1A satellite, which is described by Rocket Lab as being \u201can advanced Earth observation satellite equipped with a high-resolution optical camera to monitor natural disasters along the Korean Peninsula.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first of the Neonsat satellites, Neonsat-1, was launched and deployed by Rocket Lab during the April 2024 mission \u2018Beginning Of The Swarm\u2019, and has been successfully carrying out its Earth-monitoring objective,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new Neonsat-1A satellite will be deployed to validate KAIST\u2019s advanced satellite\u2019s capability, boost operational utility, and pave the way for the single Neonsat satellite to become a constellation \u2013 \u00a0thus fulfilling the mission\u2019s name, \u2018Bridging the Swarm.\u2019 More Neonsat satellites are scheduled for launch in 2026 and 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NeonSat-1A satellite will launch into a 540 km (336 mi) low Earth orbit at an inclination of 97.4 degrees. Deployment from the rocket\u2019s Curie kick stage is anticipated roughly 54 minutes after liftoff.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Dec. 19, Rocket Lab is also scheduled to launch a mission from Launch Complex 2 at NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. The mission is referred to as \u2018Avalanche\u2019 and is set to fly during a window that opens at 12 a.m. EST (0500 UTC).<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab hasn\u2019t officially commented on this mission publicly, but it\u2019s believed to be a mission booked by the U.S. Space Force\u2019s Space Systems Command. This would make it the Space Test Program-30 (STP-S-30), which will launch a satellite called DiskSat.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab previously said that DiskSat \u201cwill demonstrate sustained very low earth orbit (VLEO) flight and test a unique, 1-meter diameter, disk-shaped satellite bus that is designed to increase on-orbit persistence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we get down to VLEO \u2014 this is below 350 kilometers \u2014 it\u2019s a lot of drag and other elements that you have to overcome. Because of the shape of DiskSat, we can change its orientation so that it has a very low drag profile,\u201d said Catherine Venturini, the principal investigator for DiskSat from the Aerospace Corporation, in a Dec. 9 press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal being that, with electric propulsion, we can sustain a VLEO for a certain amount of time, which would be very compelling for a lot of our customers and their mission interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Record-breaking year<\/p>\n

The successful launch of the \u2018RAISE and Shine\u2019 mission to begin the week marked the 19th launch of an Electron rocket this year. Among those, there were three, suborbital launches from Virginia as part of Rocket Lab\u2019s Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) program.<\/p>\n

The company has been in record territory since Nov. 18 when it launched its 17th Electron rocket on a mission called \u2018Prometheus Run\u2019 for the Missile Defense Agency.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how Electron\u2019s annual launch tally stands:<\/p>\n

2025 \u2013 16 orbital, 3 suborbital
\n2024 \u2013 14 orbital, 2 suborbital
\n2023 \u2013 9 orbital, 1 suborbital
\n2022 \u2013 9 orbital
\n2021 \u2013 6 orbital
\n2020 \u2013 7 orbital
\n2019 \u2013 6 orbital
\n2018 \u2013 3 orbital
\n2017 \u2013 1 orbital\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis pace is only possible because we are very intentional about designing Electrons at scale,\u201d said Sir Peter Beck during a third quarter earnings call on Nov. 10. \u201cThis extends beyond the vehicle itself to all the supporting infrastructure, like manufacturing, processing and operating a high-volume launch range infrastructure as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an important approach that we\u2019re deploying the Neutron to, ensuring that we\u2019re thinking well beyond first flight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The debut launch of its larger Neutron rocket was delayed from 2025 and is currently targeting its first launch sometime in the first quarter of 2026 or shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve completed qualification & acceptance testing of the Hungry Hippo fairing for Neutron \ud83d\ude80 With the design, structure, and operations of Neutron\u2019s fixed reusable fairing and upper module now proven out, Hungry Hippo is ready for launch. pic.twitter.com\/8I0DKE4Ugt<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) December 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve set high expectations for Neutron\u2019s first flight. Our aim is to make it to orbit on the first try,\u201d Beck said. \u201cYou won\u2019t see us minimizing some qualifier about us just learning the pad and claiming success and whatnot. And that means that we don\u2019t want to learn something during Neutron\u2019s first flight that could be learned on the ground during the testing phase.\u201d<\/p>\n

That first flight of Neutron won\u2019t carry a customer payload, but rather is designed to prove out the vehicle and its supporting infrastructure.<\/p>\n

As for the year ahead for Electron, Beck said their factory is designed with the goal of building 52 rockets per year, but didn\u2019t speculate on the number of launches it anticipated completing with that rocket in 2026.<\/p>\n

One of the missions on the manifest set to fly in the first quarter is NASA\u2019s Aspera mission. The agency\u2019s Launch Services Program awarded the mission to Rocket Lab as part of its Venture-Class Aquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contract back in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough the observation of ultraviolet light, Aspera will examine hot gas in the space between galaxies, called the intergalactic medium,\u201d NASA said. \u201cThe mission will study the inflow and outflow of gas from galaxies, a process thought to contribute to star formation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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