CompositesWorld

NOV 2017

CompositesWorld

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NOVEMBER 2017 26 CompositesWorld WORK IN PROGRESS » ere is a growing backlog of grounded satellites waiting to fly into orbit and get to work. Most of them are small satellites (SmallSats) and very small CubeSats (see the Side Story titled, "How small is a SmallSat?" on p. 28). But in position in low Earth orbit (LEO), they will help provide sizeable services, such as affordable Internet, live Earth observation for activities that include environmental monitoring, natural disaster prediction, search-and-rescue services, and up-to-date maritime data. e missing piece is transport into that LEO. Currently, Small- Sats and CubeSats must wait for space-available piggyback slots on high-powered rockets operated by major commercial players, such as United Launch Alliance (ULA, Centennial, CO) and SpaceX (Hawthorne, CA, US) in the US, or on European and Japanese launch vehicles, among others (see Learn More, p. 29). Piggyback launches often deliver these satellites to the Interna- tional Space Station (ISS, altitude 420 km) first, where they are New player scaling up two-stage rocket to relieve small-satellite launch backlog. Rocket Lab all-composite Electron launch vehicle subsequently deployed by services such as NanoRacks (Wash- ington, DC, US) to their destined orbit (see Learn More). "Companies are currently facing long waits, often years, to get their satellites on orbit," claims New Zealander Peter Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab — a private company founded by Beck in 2006, with administrative, design and manufacturing operations located in Auckland, NZ, and in Huntington Beach, CA, US. One among several commercial companies that have taken aim at this market, Rocket Lab has committed to a faster solution. Mission: CubeSats to LEO Beck defines Rocket Lab's mission as one that will "remove the barriers to commercial space by providing frequent launch opportunities to low Earth orbit." e company will offer orbital launches on its own Electron rocket from its own launch site on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula. FIG. 1 Set to send CubeSats to LEO This compact Electron rocket, which features carbon fiber composite casings, is the work of New Zealand-based Rocket Lab, and has been designed with the small satellite industry in mind. It's US$5 million dedicated-launch price tag is calculated to make it an attractive alternative to the big players in the LEO launch market. Source (all photos) | RocketLab By Donna Dawson / Senior Writer Emeritus

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