Failed to launch an American missile preventing it from reaching orbit, and two satellites were lost

Written By رنا السيلاوي on 2021/05/16

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.

ArabiaWeather - The "Electron" missile, developed by the American Rocket Lab company, which was carrying two commercial satellites, was launched on Saturday (May 15) from the launch pad in the Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, and after less than three minutes at all and the separation Two stages on the missile, an unexpected failure of the missile caused it to fail to reach orbit, and the loss of two BlackSky satellites that were designed to observe the Earth.

 

Rocket Lab wrote in a statement on Twitter after the mission failed: “A problem occurred during the launch today, resulting in loss of control and mission failure. We deeply regret our clients in the launch BlackSky and Spaceflight. ) ".

 

A camera installed on the upper stage of the "Electron" missile showed the phase separation after two minutes and 35 seconds of flight, followed by what appeared to be a short ignition and sharp sideways movement. Rocket Lab confirmed the loss of remote communication with the missile four minutes after takeoff.

 

The 18-meter-long "Electron" booster missile was launched at 7:11 am EST (11:11 GMT) after more than an hour of delay due to high winds , and this mission was the airline's 20th flight.

 

Company representatives said in a statement today that the first stage of the Electron missile succeeded in parachuting to Earth after it separated from the upper stage, and it fell quietly in the Pacific Ocean as part of the company's reuse program to reduce the cost of spaceflight.

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.


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