Lift off! New Zealand's Rocket Lab launches first rocket into orbit from Māhia Peninsula

Sunday, 21 January 2018

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket makes it into orbit in January after lifting off from the Māhia Peninsula.

The first rocket successfully launched from New Zealand is now tucked into orbit hundreds of kilometres above Earth.

The unmanned Electron rocket, named 'Still Testing', took off from Māhia Peninsula at 2.45pm on Sunday.

Cheers and clapping erupted throughout Rocket Lab's Auckland mission control as it successfully reached orbit about 2.53pm.

The rocket lifted off from its launch pad on Sunday.

A live stream video of the launch featured magnificent imagery of New Zealand as the 17-metre-long rocket powered away from earth through the atmosphere.

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Rocket Lab launched 'Still Testing' at 2.45pm on Sunday.

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'Today represents a significant milestone in opening up access to space, to better understand our planet and improve life on Earth,' Rocket Lab said.

Richard Easther, a professor of physics at the University of Auckland, said the launch represented a 'red-letter day for New Zealand'.

'To put this into perspective, we are now one of just a dozen countries to have successfully built and deployed a rocket that can put satellites into orbit,' Easther said.

The other nations are either world powers such as the USA and Russia, or smaller countries 'which are armed to the teeth' such as Israel and North Korea.

Easther said that meant 'New Zealand really stands alone with a technically advanced, commercially focussed launch vehicle'.

He added it was 'just the first chapter in what promises to be a fascinating story for the country and our technology and science sectors'.

Economic development minister David Parker congratulated Rocket Lab on the successful launch, and said New Zealand was well positioned to support further development of the space industry.

'Our natural advantage of clear skies and seas, and relatively low levels of air traffic make us an attractive location for space activity.' Parker said.

Parker visited Mission Control to watch the countdown on Saturday, and pledged further support for the space industry.

'The Government is particularly interested in advancing areas where New Zealand has existing strengths in space-based data applied to agri-technology, hazard management, oceanography and meteorology,' he said.

'Still Testing' carried three satellites into space from New Zealand.

One of the satellites will take images of Earth for United States company Planet Labs.

The other two will capture weather and ship tracking data for Spire Global.

This was the second rocket to be launched by the New Zealand aerospace company, but the first to make it into orbit.

A rocket launched in May 2017 by the company saw lift-off, but failed to reach orbit.

Six attempts made by Rocket Lab to launch on Saturday failed and attempts were scrubbed altogether by early evening.

Strong wind high in the atmosphere, a power fault, and too much liquid oxygen feeding into the rocket's engine obstructed multiple launch attempts.

Rocket Lab plans to hold three test rocket launches before it operates commercially to carry satellites into orbit frequently, at a cost significantly lower than its competitors.