Electron (rocket)
| Function | Orbital launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Rocket Lab |
| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Cost per launch | USD 4.9 Million |
| Size | |
| Height | 17 m (56 ft) |
| Diameter | 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) |
| Mass | 10,500 kg (23,100 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to 500 km SSO | 150 kg (330 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Comparable | Shavit, Kaituozhe-1, Unha |
| Launch history | |
| Status | In Development |
| Launch sites | Rocket Lab LC 1 and KSC LC-39C |
| First stage | |
| Diameter | 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) |
| Engines | 9 × Rutherford |
| Thrust | Sea Level: 162 kN (36,000 lbf) Vacuum: : 192 kN (43,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | Vacuum: : 300 seconds (2.9 km/s) |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
| Second stage | |
| Diameter | 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) |
| Engines | 1 × Rutherford Vacuum |
| Thrust | Sea Level: 22 kN (4,900 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 330 seconds (3.2 km/s) |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
Electron is a two-stage orbital rocket launcher developed by Rocket Lab to cover the commercial very small satellite launch segment (CubeSats). The rocket use two same diameter (1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)) stages filled with RP-1/LOX propellant. It uses the electrically pump-fed Rutherford rocket engine, the first of this cycle, on both stages, nine in the first and one vacuum optimized for the second. It is designed to launch a 150 kg (330 lb) payload to a 500 km Sun-synchronous orbit for an expected USD 4.9 Million, a price point that the company hopes will enable a hundred launches per year. In December 2016, Rocket Lab announced the Electron had completed flight qualification and would begin test flights in 2017.
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