With 32 launches from New Zealand in the books, Rocket Lab made its first launch from the U.S. on a flight called “Virginia is For Launch Lovers” on Tuesday.
The Long Beach, California-based company sent its Electron rocket loaded with three satellites for radio frequency geospatial analytics provider HawkEye 360 into space with liftoff at 6 p.m. from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore in Virginia.
“And liftoff of Electron from Launch Complex 2 leaving U.S. soil for the first time on its way to space up and over the Atlantic Ocean, all nine Rutherford engines on Electron’s first stage now propelling the rocket,” said Rocket Lab commentator Murielle Baker during live stream of the launch. “We’re hearing good call from the teams from Virginia and Rocket Lab Mission Control. A clean ascent for Electron.”
