For the first time, the US private space company Rocket Lab has launched a purely commercial cargo missile into orbit. Today at 4.50 am (CET) the electron rocket lifted from the world’s only privately owned spaceport on the Mahia peninsula on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, the company said.
On board, among other things, six satellites of paying customers were found that had been successfully abandoned. „With the electron rocket, small satellites now have fast and reliable access to space,“ said company founder Peter Beck. The company is committed to making money quickly by transporting small satellites into space.
The mission titled „It’s Business Time“ had previously been postponed several times due to technical and meteorological issues. In December, the company plans another mission on behalf of the US space agency NASA.
