spacetoday.net: Rocket Lab launches three military satellites

Rocket Lab launches three military satellites

Posted: Sun, May 5, 2019, 11:48 AM ET (1548 GMT)
Electron launch of STP-27RD mission (Rocket Lab)

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket successfully launched three technology demonstration satellites for the Defense Department Sunday. The Electron lifted off from the company's launch site in New Zealand at 2:00 am EDT (0600 GMT) and deployed the three satellites into low Earth orbit nearly an hour later. The rocket was flying a mission for the Defense Department's Space Test Program called STP-27RD, carrying the Harbinger satellite to test SAR imagery technologies, the SPARC-1 cubesat to test avionics, and the Falcon ODE cubesat to help calibrate groundbased tracking systems. The launch was the second this year for the Electron and the sixth overall for the small commercial launch vehicle.