Comments on: A detailed look at Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/a-detailed-look-at-rocket-labs-electron-rocket/ Fri, 09 Mar 2018 01:34:36 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Dick Eagleson https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/a-detailed-look-at-rocket-labs-electron-rocket/#comment-1044010 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 01:34:36 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=50575#comment-1044010 Rocket Lab has, I think, taken a page from the SpaceX playbook by keeping certain nifty things under wraps until the last minute. The Curie kick stage and that mirror-ball satellite are two exemplars.

Aside from space debris hygiene considerations, the Curie stage makes excellent sense from a rocket equation standpoint. It’s much smaller and lighter than a second stage meaning more of its total impulse can go to customizing final orbits and less to dragging its own mass along for the ride.

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