Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the
Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems,
today announced it has set a return to launch window for its
Electron launch vehicle.
Rocket Lab will return to the pad at Launch Complex 1 with a
dedicated Electron mission for Japan-based Earth imaging company
iQPS (Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc.) during a launch
window which opens on November 28th, 2023 and extends into
December.
The resumption of Electron launches comes as Rocket Lab
approaches the conclusion of an extensive review into the cause of
the anomaly that resulted in the loss of its 41st Electron mission
launched on September 19th, 2023. The anomaly occurred after 20
consecutive successful orbital missions and 37 successful Electron
missions overall for government and commercial satellite operators,
with 171 satellites deployed to orbit.
The September 19th mission completed lift-off, clearance through
Max Q, and stage separation between the rocket’s first and second
stage. At 151 seconds into the mission, high voltage from the
second stage’s power supply system anomalously fell sharply. In
less than a second, the stage experienced a total loss of power and
was unable to reach orbital velocity to deliver the mission’s
payload, subsequently re-entering the atmosphere and ending the
mission. In accordance with Rocket Lab’s safety protocols, public
safety was not affected.
After more than seven weeks of extensive analysis of the
mission’s manufacturing, test, and flight data, the findings of the
investigation overwhelmingly indicate that an unexpected electrical
arc occurred within the power supply system that provides high
voltage to the Rutherford engine’s motor controllers, shorting the
battery packs that provide power to the launch vehicle’s second
stage.
Exhaustive testing and analysis to recreate this failure mode
has led to the investigation team’s determination that the arc was
likely only made possible by the rare interaction of multiple
conditions. Any one of these factors on their own would likely not
have caused the failure of the second stage, but when they occur
simultaneously in the low-pressure environment of space, they reach
the threshold dictated by Paschen’s Law for an arc to form and
travel. Paschen's Law is an equation that breaks down the
relationship between voltage, pressure environment, distance
between electrodes, and presence of gas necessary for an electrical
arc to form and travel.
Three rare conditions had to present simultaneously in the
low-pressure space environment to reach the threshold for arcing
under Paschen’s Law, including:
- A superimposed alternating current (AC) with the direct current
(DC) high-voltage electricity provided to the stage’s power supply
system, that is produced as a ripple voltage from the system’s
engine motor controllers;
- A small concentration of helium and nitrogen gasses that were
present within the interstage between Electron’s first and second
stages; and
- An imperceptible fault in the insulation of the high voltage
loom within the power supply system.
These factors combined, including electricity in the presence of
both helium and nitrogen, while under a partial pressure
environment, unrestrained by a fault in the high voltage loom, and
exacerbated by an alternating current, aligned at a point on the
Paschen curve that allows an electrical arc to form and travel.
This highly complex set of conditions is extremely difficult to
predict and test for on Earth, even in simulated space conditions.
To ensure the fault does not present again, Rocket Lab is
implementing two key corrective measures -- one designed to improve
testing on the ground and another to eliminate the possibility of
comparable arcs occurring in flight should similar faults evade the
new enhanced testing process.
While pre-launch testing of the second stage’s power supply
system already covers the full range of its operational parameters
including pressure, ionization levels, and voltage, the enhanced
test routine will now account for even harsher conditions than
those experienced in space, including increasing test-to-flight
margins and flight-representative voltage waveforms.
As an additional redundancy feature, Rocket Lab has modified
Electron’s battery frame section which houses the high voltage
power supply system to enable it to maintain optimum gaseous
pressure from launch through to stage separation from Electron’s
Kick Stage. Pressurizing this section significantly reduces the
ability for arcs to form.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said: "This is a highly
complex, improbable, and evasive issue that the team has been
relentless in investigating and fixing so we can put an even better
vehicle back on the pad. We are grateful to our customers and the
FAA for their continued support through this thorough investigation
process. Thank you for your trust in our team. We look forward to
returning to flight with corrective measures in place to provide
the frequent and reliable access to orbit that the industry has
come to depend on after 37 successful Electron missions."
Rocket Lab expects to formally close its anomaly investigation
in the coming weeks. Rocket Lab has also already received
authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to
resume Electron launches from Launch Complex 1. Further details
about the upcoming Electron launch will be shared closer to launch
day.
+ About Rocket Lab
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with
an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable
launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and
on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier, and more
affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach,
California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small
orbital launch vehicle, the Photon satellite platform, and the
Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for
constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January
2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second
most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 171
satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations,
enabling operations in national security, scientific research,
space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and
communications. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been
selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as
the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three
launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a
private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a third
launch pad in Virginia. To learn more, visit
www.rocketlabusa.com.
+ Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by
the safe harbor provisions for forward looking statements contained
in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
“Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements contained in
this press release other than statements of historical fact,
including, without limitation, statements regarding our launch and
space systems operation, launch schedule and window, safe and
repeatable access to space, Neutron development, operational
expansion and business strategy are forward-looking statements. All
statements contained in this press release other than statements of
historical fact, including, without limitation, statements
regarding our launch and space systems operation, launch schedule
and window, safe and repeatable access to space, Neutron
development, operational expansion, business strategy, and
expectations relating to our financial condition, results of
operations, plans, objectives and future performance are
forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,”
“estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,”
“expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “could,” “would,” “project,”
“plan,” “target,” and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking
statements use these words or expressions. These statements are
neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including
but not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in
our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2022, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our
other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“SEC”), accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the
Investor Relations section of our website at www.rocketlabusa.com,
which could cause our actual results to differ materially from
those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this
press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent
management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While
we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some
point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if
subsequent events cause our views to change.
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+ Rocket Lab Media Contact Murielle Baker
media@rocketlabusa.com
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