Cosmic Log
Rocket Lab says its first Electron rocket “made it to space” after a test launch from a New Zealand pad, marking a big step toward its goal of putting payloads into orbit for $5 million.
Liftoff came at 4:20 p.m. May 25 New Zealand time (9:20 p.m. PT May 24), after earlier opportunities had to be passed up due to weather concerns.
In a statement, Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said the rocket achieved an outer-space altitude but fell short of going orbital.
Seattle-based Spaceflight says it’s struck a deal to buy the full capacity of a single Electron rocket launch from L.A.-based Rocket Lab, so it can send other ventures’ small satellites into orbit at cut-rate prices. The dedicated-rideshare mission follows the model that Spaceflight set with SpaceX for a Falcon 9 launch, now expected to go up next year.
Rocket Lab says it has closed a $75 million Series D financing round for production of its low-cost Electron rocket, which is expected to see its maiden launch within the next couple of months. The round was led by Data Collective, with additional new funding from Promus Ventures and an undisclosed investor, plus fresh funding from Khosla Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and K1W1. Rocket Lab, now headquartered in Huntington Beach, Calif., has received $148 million in funding to date for a valuation in excess of $1 billion. That qualifies the company as a “unicorn,” in tech parlance.
Moon Express says it has reserved three lunar lander launches from a startup called Rocket Lab starting in 2017, with an eye toward putting robots on the moon’s surface and winning the lion’s share of the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize.
If the mission is successful, Moon Express could become the first privately backed venture to achieve a soft lunar landing.
“This will be the space equivalent of the four-minute mile,” Moon Express’ co-founder and CEO, Bob Richards, told GeekWire on Thursday. “This is a new era we just could have dreamed about as kids.”