Rocket Lab's Electron rocket launched the Tsukuyomi-1 from New Zealand. The "The Moon God Awakens" mission was Rocket Lab's since an earlier failure this year.
Credit: Rocket Lab
Credit: Rocket Lab
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TechTranscript
00:00 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
00:17 Lift off.
00:47 Electron has lifted off from Launch Complex 1 and we are 34 seconds into our flight.
00:52 With Electron now clear of the pads, soon we will approach Max Q, or Maximum Aerodynamic
00:58 Pressure, the moment of the most amount of stress against the rocket.
01:02 So let's listen in for the call from Mission Control that Electron has passed Max Q.
01:06 Vehicle is supersonic, approaching Max Q. High voltage discharge nominal.
01:24 Cleared Max Q.
01:28 And there you have it, Electron has cleared Max Q, a beautiful and nominal mission so
01:33 far, now up 15 kilometers in altitude as the rocket reaches speeds of more than 2,100 kilometers.
01:41 Next up are three mission milestones that happen in quick succession.
01:45 First up we have MECO, or Main Engine Cutoff.
01:47 This is when all nine Rutherford engines on the first stage throttle down and then shut
01:51 off completely.
01:53 Very quickly after that we have the separation of the first and second stages and you'll
01:57 see that main booster tank fall away from Electron's second stage.
02:01 We then have the ignition of the single Rutherford engine on Electron's second stage, excuse
02:06 me, as the mission continues to orbit.
02:08 Those calls should be coming up from our operators and Mission Control very shortly.
02:26 Stage one propulsion holding nominal.
02:27 Standby for MECO in roughly 30 seconds.
02:38 15 seconds to MECO.
02:42 Entered burnout detect mode.
02:55 MECO confirmed.
03:02 Stage separation successful.
03:04 Stage two ignition confirmed.
03:15 As you can probably tell from that applause, we have had a successful MECO stage separation
03:20 and second stage engine start for Electron.
03:24 Up next will be the fairing jettison where the two halves of Electron's protective fairing
03:28 split and fall away from the vehicle to expose IQPS's satellite to space in preparation for
03:34 payload deployment.
03:35 And we might see those two halves on screen too as we clear that next milestone.
03:41 Fairing jettison succeeded.
03:53 That was them there on your screen.
03:55 Electron's fairing halves have fallen away as planned.
03:58 At three minutes and 42 seconds into the mission, the single Rutherford engine on Electron's
04:03 second stage continues to burn bright as we make our way to orbit.
04:08 We have a new view of the engine's nozzle that includes a nitrogen bottle that you can
04:12 see on the top left of your screen, which has been introduced as part of an update to
04:16 the second stage system.
04:18 Now this is providing pressurized gas to the enclosure covering the second stage electrical
04:24 system, helping to minimize the chances of electrical arcs.
04:28 Soon we'll reach a mission milestone unique to Electron, the battery hot swap.
04:33 Electron's fuel pumps are battery powered and once we deplete the first set of batteries,
04:37 they're of no use to us anymore.
04:38 And so we swap them out with a fresh set, ejecting the depleted ones so that they don't
04:42 hitch a ride to orbit.
04:44 That milestone should be coming up at around six minutes and 43 seconds into the mission,
04:48 and so we have a while to wait for that milestone just yet.
04:56 We are now four minutes and 42 seconds into flight and well on our way to orbit.
05:01 So far we have successfully lifted off, cleared the pad and passed through Max Q, as well
05:06 as had main engine cutoff and stage separation.
05:09 Now attached to Electron's second stage is the kick stage, where you can see IQPS's satellite
05:14 right there, which is poised for deployment to a 575 kilometer orbit.
05:20 If you take a look at the top graph on the right there, you can see that we have about
05:24 61% of propellant remaining, which will take us through to about T plus nine and a half
05:30 minutes where we will have engine shutdown and kick stage separation.
05:34 240 seconds remaining, guidance is nominal.
05:46 The stage two Rutherford engine continues to perform nominally and Electron is climbing
05:50 steadily to its target apogee of 575 kilometers above Earth.
05:55 And what a beautiful view we have so far.
05:58 The IQPS payload atop the kick stage is less than an hour away from its home in orbit.
06:19 As we approach battery hot swap in the next 30 seconds or so, keep your eyes peeled because
06:23 sometimes you can catch a glimpse of these battery packs falling away.
06:27 A reminder that it will look a little different than usual due to the remedial work done on
06:31 the stage two power pack.
06:33 Let's listen in for the call out for mission control.
06:50 Hot swap successful.
06:55 That was the call that battery hot swap is confirmed and the mission is proceeding as
07:00 planned.
07:01 In about three minutes, Electron's second stage will experience SECO or second engine
07:05 cutoff.
07:06 Now, much like main engine cutoff, the stage two Rutherford will throttle down before the
07:11 kick stage separates as it continues on to payload deployment.
07:14 HVB battery discharge holding nominal.
07:41 Alright a quick check in on the dials at T plus seven minutes and 28 seconds.
07:46 Electron is traveling at a speed of over 17,000 kilometers per hour and approaching an altitude
07:51 of about 242 kilometers, which with some quick maths brings us another 300 or so kilometers
07:58 to go in this mission.
08:00 Now after we reach that target, we will have a coast phase of about 45 minutes as the kick
08:05 stage scoots around the other side of Earth and back into position ready for payload deployment.
08:10 Stage two propulsion still holding nominal.
08:21 The team and mission control are closely monitoring the stage two burn as we get closer and closer
08:25 to SECO or second engine cutoff.
08:28 Just a minute to go until that milestone with Electron and the IQPS payload remaining healthy.
08:33 Reminder that this version of Rutherford is designed for the vacuum of space, so the glowing
08:37 nozzle you see on your screen there is much larger than the sea level variant of the engine
08:42 used on stage one.
08:44 This larger nozzle extracts more energy from the exhaust as it expands, increasing the
08:48 performance of the engine.
09:08 And as we mentioned before, one of the final milestones coming up for this mission is SECO.
09:25 Now we will see the second stage engine throttle down ahead of shutoff, then the kick stage,
09:29 which the satellite is attached to, will separate and begin its coast phase.
09:33 Let's listen in to mission control for the calls.
10:00 And with that, the Rutherford engine on Electron's second stage has successfully shut down and
10:04 stage two and the kick stage have cleanly separated.