Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Rocket Lab Wins NASA Satellite Launch Contract

Huntington Beach-based Rocket Lab has won a NASA contract, to launch a small satellite to the moon, according to NASA. NASA said that the contract will launch a CubeSat to the moon from Rocket Lab's new launch site, at Wallops Island, Virginia. The launch site is at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, where Rocket Lab recently set up its second launch location. Rocket Lab's original launch site is in New Zealand. According to NASA, Rocket Lab will launch its Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) CubeSat mission to the Moon from the Virginia launch site in early 2021. Financial impact of the contract win was not announced. NASA's CAPSTONE mission will launch a 55-pound satellite into space and into orbit around the moon.