Rocket Lab Announces Date, Payloads for Satellite Rideshare Launch

The mission patch for Rocket Lab's "Make it Rain" mission. The vehicle is set to launch in June from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
The mission patch for Rocket Lab's "Make it Rain" mission. The vehicle is set to launch in June from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)

Space launch startup Rocket Lab has announced a launch date  for several spacecraft on behalf of Spaceflight, a satellite rideshare company. Rocket Lab has also specified which satellite payloads will be hitching a ride.

The mission is nicknamed "Make It Rain" due to the amount of rainfall in both Seattle (Spaceflight's headquarters) and New Zealand (where the launch site is located), according to a statement from Rocket Lab.

The rocket will launch in June from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula, Rocket Lab announced today (May 10) in the statement. Satellites on board include BlackSky's Global-4, two U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Prometheus spacecraft and Melbourne Space Program's ACRUX-1. The mission would be the seventh to use Rocket Lab's Electron rocket.

"This exciting mission with Spaceflight demonstrates the new level of freedom now offered to small satellite operators thanks to Electron," Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's founder and CEO, said in the statement. "Rocket Lab puts small satellite operators in charge, offering an unmatched level of control over launch schedule. Thanks to Electron's Kick Stage, we also deliver the kind of precision orbital deployment normally reserved for a prime [satellite]." 

A prime satellite is usually the primary and largest satellite on the rocket; satellites that Spaceflight offers spots for tend to be secondary satellites, which often launch in trajectories similar to the prime satellite, instead of independently.

This launch maintains Rocket Lab's streak of scheduling, on average, one launch per month, representatives said in the statement. The firm also plans to begin using a second launch site, Launch Complex 2, at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia; the first launch at this new site will be later this year.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace