I'm quite surprised that Kiwi hasn't already posted something about this.
On 21 January 2018, New Zealand became the 11th country to launch a satellite into orbit, and Rocket Lab became only the second private space company to do so, when they launched their Rutherford powered Electron Rocket from their Mahia Peninsula Launch Complex.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_oAGlhFezohttps://www.rocketlabusa.com/news/updates/rocket-lab-successfully-reaches-orbit-and-deploys-payloads-january-21-2018/“Reaching orbit on a second test flight is significant on its own, but successfully deploying customer payloads so early in a new rocket program is almost unprecedented. Rocket Lab was founded on the principal of opening access to space to better understand our planet and improve life on it. Today we took a significant step towards that,” he says.
Rocket Lab has introduced some key innovations that make this quite an achievement.
3D printed enginesThe Electron's Rutherford engine is the first orbital class LOX-RP1 engine to use 3D printing for all its primary components, including the thrust chamber, the fuel injector, the pumps and the main propellant valves. These are all printed from titanium alloys in 3-4 days using a technique called
electron beam melting. Traditional parts manufacture usually takes months.
Electric TurbopumpsUsually, the propellant is injected into a rocket motor using turbopumps driven by a turbine powered by fuel, such as liquid oxygen or gaseous hydrogen. However, Rocket Lab have gone for a bit of Kiwi ingenuity, and used brushless DC electric motors powered by lithium-polymer batteries.
Fast Turnarounds with small payloads.At full production, Rocket Lab eventually expects to launch more than 50 times a year, and is regulated to launch up to 120 times a year. In comparison, there were 22 launches last year from the United States (18 of them by SpaceX) and 82 internationally. No longer will customers wanting to put small packages such as cubesats in orbit have to wait to hitch a ride with one of the Big Boys (ULA, ESA, SpaceX etc). At a cost of US$5m per launch and a payload capacity of 225kg (a price/kg comparable to that of ULA's Atlas V), Rocket Lab can put several of these into orbit for less than a million dollars each... that's chump change in space terms. To that end, Rocket Lab has the next two years of launches fully booked and is looking to increase their rate to accommodate the customer's needs.
The Kick StageRocket Lab kept secret two other satellites riding atop the launch vehicle; an additional kick stage engine separated and coasted through space for 40 minutes before igniting to place the two Spire Lemur-2 nanosatellites into a nearly circular 500 kilometre orbit.
Powered by Rocket Lab’s new Curie restartable engine, the kick stage burns a non-toxic
“green” monopropellant. A company spokesperson said details about the make-up of the propellant are
“commercially sensitive.” This kick stage allows future launches to place multiple satellites into different orbits. Different customers flying different types of payloads on the same launch will be able to define their own orbits.
"Until now many small satellite operators have had to compromise on optimal orbits in order to reach space at an accessible cost,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO.
“The kick stage releases small satellites from the constricting parameters of primary payload orbits and enables them to fully reach their potential, including faster deployment of small satellite constellations and better positioning for Earth imaging.”NOTE: This kick stage is not the same thing as an apogee kick motor. It has its own suite of on-board avionics, power and communications systems. Its "Curie" engine can be re-ignited and has its own cold gas reaction control system for pointing to adjust orbital inclinations and altitude.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/01/29/rocket-labs-test-launch-carried-two-previously-unannounced-passengers/
