Rocket Lab's Electron mission dubbed "Look Ma, No Hands" blasted off smoothly today (Aug. 19) from a pad in mountainous New Zealand, funny name and all.
The company, which is based in California, has a tradition of giving its missions lighthearted names. Look Ma, No Hands was preceded by "Make It Rain" in late June. Other launches this year were called "That's a Funny-Looking Cactus" and "Two Thumbs Up." Those launches followed a six-month spell of more serious-minded mission names, but Rocket Lab's first missions were named "It's a Test," "Still Testing" and "It's Business Time."
For the Electron's eighth launch, the company turned to the infrastructure that supports the rocket for naming inspiration.
Related: Rocket Lab Electron Booster Launches 4 Satellites Into Orbit
"Before liftoff, Electron is secured to the launch pad by the strongback and its top clamp," Max Munsey, a spokesperson for Rocket Lab in the company's launch operations team, said during today's launch broadcast.
"The top clamp opens up and the strongback retreats away from Electron to clear away for launch," Munsey said. "Once Electron is free from the strongback's grasp, it's 'look ma, no hands' for Electron."
That "no hands" moment came without incident about 6 minutes before today's 8:12 a.m. EDT (1212 GMT) liftoff, which occurred at 12:12 a.m. Tuesday local time at the launch site on Māhia Peninsula.
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Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.