By 
November 29th, 2017
Credit: Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab, a US aerospace company with operations in New Zealand, will open a ten-day launch window from Friday December 8, 2017 NZT to carry out the company’s second test launch of the Electron rocket.
During this time a four-hour launch window will open daily from 2:30 p.m. NZT.
Māhia Peninsula
The test launch, titled “Still Testing,” will take place from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand.
This projected flight follows on from the inaugural Electron test carried out on May 25, 2017. That maiden launch failed to enter orbit, but the group has analyzed more than 25,000 channels of data from flight one to attempt reaching Earth orbit on flight two.
Payloads
The upcoming Still Testing will carry an Earth-imaging Dove satellite for Planet and two Lemur-2 satellites for Spire for weather and ship tracking, enabling Rocket Lab to gather crucial data and test systems for the deployment stage of a mission.
Still Testing is the second of three test launches planned from Launch Complex 1 ahead of commercial operations, however if the vehicle performs nominally throughout the second test the commercial phase may be accelerated.
Video stream
For the first time, a live video stream will be available approximately 15 minutes prior to a launch attempt at:
Posted in Space News
