Rocket Lab Electron Launch Fails, Losing Spaceflight Inc. and BlackSky Payloads

A Rocket Lab Electron launch suffered a malfunction shortly after its liftoff, causing a launch failure and resulting in the loss of its two payloads, Saturday, May 15.

Reporting through its official Twitter account, Rocket Lab said that the launch failure is currently under investigation, with the problem occurring "shortly after stage two ignition." The American aerospace leader promises to provide more information once available.

"We are deeply sorry to our launch customers BlackSky and Spaceflight," Rocket Lab said in its tweet.

The live stream for the Electron launch showed a seemingly successful launch at 11:11 PM, New Zealand Time (4:11 AM PST), followed by its scheduled stage separation. However, the second stage rocket engine seemed to fail its ignition, and with it, the rocket's mission to send the satellites to orbit.

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The Payloads Within "Running Out of Toes"

The Rocket Lab mission was the company's second launch that attempted a booster recovery, with the first stage of the Electron rocket to make an ocean landing. Tagged "Running Out of Toes," the first stage of the rocket successfully made a "soft splashdown" in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to be later recovered. This success offered hopes for the company's goals of reusing its rocket parts.

Meanwhile, the Electron rocket failure was supposed to carry two satellites for the BlackSky Earth observation constellation. The pair of Global Gen 2 sats were built by LeoStella, a satellite manufacturer based in Tukwila, Washington for BlackSky, which has offices in Seattle in Washington and Herndon in Virginia. The pre-launch logistics were managed by Spaceflight Inc.

The BlackSky Global constellation aims to have a group of 60 Earth observation satellites to boost its "satellite imaging as a service," which aims to commercialize access to high-performance satellite imagery with revisit times of only a few hours or less.

Regarding the recent Rocket Lab Electron launch failure, BlackSky CEO Brian E. O'Toole assured everyone in a statement that they have a "resilient and responsive strategy for our constellation." He adds that they have additional satellites ready for deployment and an active production for more satellites.

"We will continue to execute on the expansion of our constellation and expect to remain on track to meet our business objectives." O'Toole added.

A Setback to the Space Ridesharing Service

While Rocket Lab continues to be a global leader in the space "ridesharing service," its recent failure is the second in its last eight flights, as first noted by CBS News. The news outlet calls the recent mishap a "disheartening setback in the company's drive to secure a major role in the small satellite launch market."

Prior to the latest "Running Out of Toes" incident, Rocket Lab also suffered a failure with its July 4, 2020 launch attempt. Tagged "Pics or It Didn't Happen," the failure was traced back to a faulty electrical connection that was not found during its preflight tests. The failure also occurred during the second stage burn and was supposed to carry small satellites for different customers, including Canon Electronics, Planet Labs, and In-Space Missions.

Watch the "Running Out of Toes" launch below: