Electron is a two-stage small-lift launch vehicle built and operated by Rocket Lab. The rocket has been launched to orbit 53 times with 49 successes and four failures. A suborbital version of the rocket, HASTE, has been successfully launched one time.
The first flight, known as "It's a Test", launched on 25 May 2017. The mission failed due to a glitch in communication equipment on the ground. Successful follow-on missions, including "Still Testing", "It's Business Time" and "This One's For Pickering", delivered multiple small payloads to low Earth orbit. Flight 26 was the first Electron flight to attempt a full catch recovery using a mid-air helicopter catch. "Scout's Arrow" was the first suborbital launch of the rocket.
In July 2019, Rocket Lab expected to have launches every two weeks in 2020.[1] In June 2020, with a new Electron launch vehicle built every 18 days, Rocket Lab was planning to deliver monthly launches for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021, including the company's first launch from Wallops LC-2 in 2023 and a mission to the Moon for NASA aboard Electron and Rocket Lab's spacecraft bus platform Photon in 2022.[2]
- ^ "Rocket Lab successfully launches seventh Electron mission, deploys seven satellites to orbit" (Press release). Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
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