Loading photos...
Loading mission resources...
Watch
Live coverage
Stream links and embedded coverage.
Loading related events...
Loading vehicle timeline...
Loading related news...
Loading
TMinusZero
Loading
Preparing the latest launch data.
TMinusZero
Loading
Preparing the latest launch data.
Launch Detail
Loading launch detail
Pulling launch timing, vehicle context, weather signals, and mission evidence.
Launch detail
Rocket Lab • Electron • Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C) (VA)
Top answer
Mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Last refreshed: Mar 22, 2024, 3:12 AM EDT. T-Minus Zero keeps this as the canonical launch record and reconciles schedule, mission, payload, media, and provider signals when those records are available.
Live targets are highlighted across the sequence.
Stream links and embedded coverage.
Premium keeps the launch-by-launch change log visible so you can review slips, window edits, and status changes without waiting for an error-driven upgrade prompt.
Free-to-share photography matched to this launch. Tap a photo to view it at full resolution.
Live & Let FlyLinked via Spaceflight News API (SNAPI).
ArticleRocket Lab successfully launched the Live and Let Fly mission last Thursday. Launching at 3:25 am ET, Electron successfully launched the Live...
ArticleRocket Lab launched a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office from Virginia March 21, the company’s second launch in as many weeks.
ArticleSpaceX is preparing to launch three Falcon 9s, including two Starlink missions. Additionally, launching this week are two Chinese rockets, an Electron, and a...
ArticleRocket Lab is gearing up for its next mission, Live & Let Fly, no earlier than Thursday, March 21st. The mission will...
ArticleUS-New Zealand based company Rocket Lab is preparing for their next mission to fly out of Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia: a classified payload for the N...
Mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Alternate mission URLs consolidate to this canonical launch record so exact mission timing, status, media, and source context stay on one page.
Use these internal paths to move from this exact launch record into the provider, vehicle, launch-site, schedule, and mission-family pages that own broader context.
This launch currently has no dedicated mission-family hub, so provider, vehicle, site, and canonical record links are the primary internal paths.
Some high-demand launch records carry specialized search intent. These profiles explain what can be verified from the published record without filling gaps that upstream sources have not published.
Published fields only: this page surfaces provider, vehicle, pad, timing, status, source links, and public mission metadata. Payload details may be limited when public sources do not publish them.
Key structured fields for this launch record are grouped here so the page answers mission, payload, orbit, provider, source, and timing questions before the deeper tracking and media sections.
This record is preserved as historical launch context. The page emphasizes what was launched, the vehicle and pad involved, published outcome/status fields, linked programs, and source records instead of treating the mission like an upcoming countdown.
Open the launch pad in Google Maps satellite mode using the pad coordinates.
Mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Electron is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle (with an optional third stage) developed by the American aerospace company Rocket Lab. Electron is a small-lift launch vehicle designed to launch small satellites and cubesats to sun-synchronous orbit and low earth orbit. The Electron is the first orbital class rocket to use electric-pump-fed engines, powered by the 9 Rutherford engines on the first stage. It is also used as a suborbital testbed (called HASTE) for hypersonics research.
Rocket Lab is an American aerospace manufacturer with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. The company develops lightweight, cost-effective commercial rocket launch services. The Electron Program was founded on the premise that small payloads such as CubeSats require dedicated small launch vehicles and flexibility not currently offered by traditional rocket systems. Its rocket, the Electron, is a light-weight rocket and is now operating commercially. The company is also producing a variety of spacecrafts and spacecrafts components.
208d613561d1247786e13cc7ab951c3138b35b4aabbd6c3473f617375276ae5cProvider, rocket, pad, and booster history tied to this launch.