Owl Night Long
Well folks, it's time for another Rocket Lab launch, and the first launch thread in this new community!
| Scheduled for UTC | 2024-03-12 15:03 |
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| Scheduled for (local) | 2024-03-13 04:03 (NZDT) |
| Launch site | LC-1B, Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand. |
| Booster recovery | No |
| Launch vehicle | Electron + Curie |
| Customer | Synspective |
| Payload | StriX-3 (100 kg) |
| Mission success criteria | Successful deployment of spacecraft into Sun-Synchronous Orbit |
Livestreams
| Stream | Link |
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| Rocket Lab (official) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF9cWWkSlsQ
| Everyday Astronaut |
| Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gclLUKCSbdM
| The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRz-JX97NP4
Stats
- This will be the 3rd launch for Rocket Lab this year.
- This will be the 45th overall launch for Rocket Lab.
Payload info:
Rocket Lab mission page
NextSpaceflight:
This is the third of a bulk buy of three Electron launches by Synspective to deliver their StriX satellites to low Earth orbit. StriX satellites can collect data with a ground resolution of 1-3m and a swath width of more than 10-30km. Each Electron launch will deliver 1 StriX satellite into orbit.
Previous mission (On Closer Inspection) | Next mission (Live and Let Fly (NROL-123))
Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here! Also feel free to leave feedback or suggestions for the mod team. We’re a brand new community, so feedback is very valuable!
Watched it this morning. Are NZ launches for sun synchronous orbit always done in the middle of the night? Or is it also about the exact position as well?
And I see the next launch is from Virginia and I think will be evening in NZ! https://www.rocketlaunch.live/launch/live-and-let-fly-nro
It depends on what specific sun synchronous orbit is desired (e.g. noon/midnight orbit vs. dawn/dusk orbit), ~~and what time of year the launch occurs~~.
~~The launch time will drift by ~4 minutes earlier per day over the course of the year. If you want to launch into the same SSO 3 months later, you have to launch ~6 hours earlier in the day.~~
Edit: I was mistaken.
The sidereal day you linked to says it's about being synced with the celestial sphere (position of the stars). Not the sun?
I would have thought if you want to be in the sun, you'd need to launch to get to the same position at the same time relative to sunrise. I don't really understand how the 4 minute drift happens for solar synchronous orbits?
Upon reflection, I believe you are correct and I was mistaken. For SSO, launch time would be relative to solar time (sunrise) NOT sidereal time (stars). Whoops :)