Rocket Lab completes its third successful launch in 2018
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Capitalism in space: Rocket Lab today (Sunday) successfully launched thirteen cubesats using its Electron rocket.
With this third launch, Rocket Lab now has more launches than Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital ATK), a launch operation that has been around since the 1980s.
The leaders in the 2018 launch race remain unchanged:
35 China
20 SpaceX
13 Russia
10 Europe (Arianespace)
8 ULA
China still leads the U.S. 35 to 33 in the national rankings.
Please consider donating to Behind the Black, by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below. Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Regular readers can support Behind The Black with a contribution via paypal:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
Capitalism in space: Rocket Lab today (Sunday) successfully launched thirteen cubesats using its Electron rocket.
With this third launch, Rocket Lab now has more launches than Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital ATK), a launch operation that has been around since the 1980s.
The leaders in the 2018 launch race remain unchanged:
35 China
20 SpaceX
13 Russia
10 Europe (Arianespace)
8 ULA
China still leads the U.S. 35 to 33 in the national rankings.
This is a big deal. Electron can place 225 kg into LEO for $6 million. About half a Pegasus worth for 1/7th the cost. Add in Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne — which can place 450 kg into LEO for $12 million — and Pegasus’s days are numbered. They might get one more NASA launch contract, but I suspect that will be it.
Falcon, Electron, and LauncherOne continue the trend started with the EELVs of reducing the cost of spaceflight. The market in action.