On Friday, May 26, 2017 at 12:55:36 PM UTC+12, Fred J. McCall wrote:
wrote:


"Rocket Lab, a California-based spaceflight company with its roots in New Zealand,
just launched its two-stage Electron rocket for the first time. The small launch
vehicle successfully lifted off from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia
Peninsula of New Zealand at 12:20 a.m. ET on Thursday May 25—4:20 p.m. New Zealand
time. The successful liftoff marks the first time an orbital-class rocket has been
launched from a private launch facility."

See:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/spac...-first-flight/


It did not, however, reach orbit and it was expected to, so there's a
failure investigation going on.


--
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable
man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore,
all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
--George Bernard Shaw

https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/rocket...on-ck-p-200954

It was a test launch and operated as it was intended.

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/

150 kg into a 500 km sun synchronous orbit - is very interesting! Its ideally suited for a 'dawn-dusk' orbit that stays in sunlight continuously. Orbits +/- 46.3 degrees in longitude from the terminator, never see the sun set. This make very lightweight solar powered satellites possible to build.

These can be above Earth,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit

And above the moon!

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/mpe/2009/740460/

So, launching a solar powered ion engine with the capacity using light weight concentrators, to generate 20 kW per kg, and very high thrust to weight MEMS based ion engines;

http://www.accion-systems.com/

https://info.aiaa.org/Regions/SE/HSV..._19_2016. pdf


Ve=10 km/sec,
P = 0.1 Newton/cm2 = 1020 milligrams(force)/cm2,
W = 46.5 milligrams/cm2
L/W = 21.93:1

500 Watts per cm2 of wafer.
20,000 W/kg satellite weight
40 cm2 -- 40.8 grams (force)per kg.
40.8 milligees! (0.4 m/s/s)

50 kg Stage
1 MW total power. 2,000 Wafers.

100 kg payload & propellant.

Accelerating from 7.62 km/sec to 10.85 km/sec is a boost of 3.23 km/sec. Entering low lunar orbit takes another 0.67 km/sec. To return another 0.67 km/sec. A total of 4.57 km/sec deep space maneuver. This requires 55.02 kg of propellant. This leaves 44.98 kg of useful payload (with 50 kg dedicated to the solar ion system). This powers a 50 cm x 40 cm array of electrospray rockets.



Two 30.5 m diameter inflatable concentrators, massing 17 kg each, illuminating a 300 mm diameter multi-spectral photovoltaic massing 133 grams, produces 500 kW of power when pointed at the sun. x2 equals 1,000 kW total. Additional 8 kg of propellant for attitude control and orbital changes. 7 kg of inert structure including communications and control.

A lunar lander and return vehicle consisting of

23.56 kg - LOX/LH propellant
5.38 kg - structure
16.04 kg - landed payload on moon (and return)

We can also launch satellites that are in the dark half the time, but receive power (as well as broadband through Li-Fi)

http://purelifi.com/

from those satellites in constant sunlight.

The lander consists of two nested spheres, one containing LOX and the other containing LH2, in a zero boil off cryogenic containment, 52 cm in diameter. This is surrounded by a 4 cm thick propulsive and sensory skin made of arrays of chemical thrusters, and arrays of light sensors and light sources as well as numerous 2 cm x 2 cm x 2 cm cavities. The system settles down on the lunar surface, is capable of flying over the lunar surface, and of rolling along it, and returning.

Micro-robotic systems arrayed throughout the surface have the ability to leave their surface and operate cooperatively to move things into the satellite and of organising patterns in the lunar dust and photographing them. A panoramic 360 degree view of the scene is created and stored on board. The stars and horizon are recognised as well as lunar surface features and Earth surface features, to aid in celestial navigation.

Services offered are;

(1) Photgrammetry of the lunar surface, its features, and objects
(2) Retrieval of small objects from the lunar surface,
(3) Deposition of small objects to the lunar surface,
(4) Writing and drawing patterns in the lunar dust (that will last millions of years)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._on_m oon.PNG

Retrieval of pieces of Luna 2 and moon rocks, from which jewelry is made, is quite valuable. Writing your name, and the name of a loved one, on the lunar surface, is likewise quite valued. Depositing keepsakes on the moon also is quite valued. Documenting prior lunar landings and operations, surveying for water resources, orbital surveys, etc., is also of tremendous value.

Well worth the $12 million spent on the programme.