Rocket Lab readies for second attempt to make it 'two out of two'
Rocket Lab's launch pad on the Māhia Peninsula has been described as the most picturesque in the world.
Space-launch firm Rocket Lab has pushed back its next launch attempt to Tuesday.
It was forced on Saturday to postpone what is being billed as its first commercial flight and its second to put satellites into orbit.
The United States company, founded by Invercargill entrepreneur Peter Beck, has excited Kiwi space enthusiasts by live-streaming its launch attempts.
But glitches have proven that rocket science doesn't always make an easy spectator sport.
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About 25,000 people persevered to watch Rocket Lab's first successful flight into orbit live in February.
That was after several delays caused by minor technical issues, bad weather and – on one occasion – an incursion by a yacht into the maritime exclusion zone around its Māhia launch pad.
Saturday's launch was shelved not because of any problem with its Electron rocket itself, but because of an issue with a tracking dish in the Chatham Islands which has now been fixed.
Saturday's launch had to be put on hold despite clear skies because of problems at a tracking station.
Poor weather which ruled out a launch attempt on Sunday has continued into Monday, Rocket Lab advised late on Sunday.
The earliest launch time will now be 12.30pm on Tuesday.
Its Electron rocket will carry four tiny satellites into space, adding to the four satellites it deployed on its final test flight in February though one those – it's symbolic "humanity star" – has since fallen out of orbit and burnt up.
Two of the shoebox-sized satellites due to be launched into space from Monday are owned by American data analytics company Spire and are designed to track ships and aircraft.
The third is owned by Californian weather-monitoring company GeoOptics and the fourth was designed by 150 American high school students as an educational project.
Two of the satellites Rocket Lab aims to put into space could be used to track aircraft.
Rocket Lab will also test a space sail that is designed to drag small satellites down from orbit at the end of their life to prevent them from continuing to circle the Earth as space junk.
The company aims to conduct a launch-a-month by the end of the year – and one every two weeks next year – creating a new industry for the country that researchers believe could be worth at least tens of millions of dollar annually.
- Stuff
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