Above and Beyond
Named New Zealand Ernst and Young entrepreneur of the year 2016 and New Zealand innovator of the year 2015, Peter Beck started Rocket Lab in 2006 with the goal of removing the barriers to commercial space. Rocket Lab is a U. S. company with a New Zealand subsidiary.
Rocket Lab aims to use innovations in rocket technology, plus quick life cycles( rapid development cycles), to launch rockets up to a 100 times a year. Rocket Lab innovations include the Electron Rocket and the Rutherford Engine.
The Nano-satellites called“ cubesats” are launched by Rocket Lab for four main purposes: weather prediction, real time maps, globally increased high speed Internet and analysis of the human impact on the environment.
The Electron Rocket is 17 metres high with a diameter of 1.2 metres. The nominal payload that one Electron Rocket can carry is 150kg. The Electron Rocket is optimized to take small payloads, at a cost of only 5 million dollars as opposed to the 56 million dollar that it currently costs other space programmes, a 91 % saving. It has just become far more affordable to send satellites and rockets into space commercially.
Every Electron Rocket is made from carbon composite because it is light and strong and can withstand higher temperatures than regular heat conducting materials. The Electron is a two stages rocket. The first stage is powered by nine Rutherford Engines, at its peak the rocket produces
192 kilo newton of thrust( approximately 19579 kg).
The second stage happens when the part of the Electron Rocket with the nine Rutherford Engines dismantles from the second part with the Rutherford Vacuum Engine. The Rutherford Vacuum Engine ensures a safe and swift journey to the Lower-Earth orbit.
The Rutherford Engine is specifically designed for the Electron launch vehicle. The fuel is liquid oxygen and RP-1( refined petroleum), which is a very refined kerosene. The components of the engine are made by 3D printing, meaning that the whole engine can be built in just 3 days. The Rutherford Engine uses an entirely new propulsion system, it uses brushless DC motors and high performance lithium polymer batteries to drive its turbo-pumps.
The Electron uses two types of Rutherford Engine, a sea level and a vacuum engine. The only difference between these engines are the nozzle shapes. The nozzle shape of the vacuum engine is tailored to suit the vacuum conditions outside Earth’ s atmosphere.
The Māhia peninsula located in the Wairoa District, is New Zealand’ s rocket hub. Rocket Lab’ s Launch Complex 1 is located at the tip of the Māhia peninsula and was officially opened on the 27 September 2016.
Space just opened for business.