Rocket Lab Spacecraft Confirmed for Mars as NASA Greenlights ESCAPADE Small Satellite Interplanetary Mission
23 Août 2021 - 1:00PM
Business Wire
The ESCAPADE mission - led by the University of
California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory to study Mars’
magnetosphere - with two Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft has received
NASA approval to move toward launch.
Rocket Lab, a global leader in dedicated launch and space
systems, today announced it will begin final mission design and
manufacture to supply two interplanetary Photon spacecraft for a
science mission to Mars, delivering Decadal-class science at a
fraction of the cost of typical planetary missions.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210823005300/en/
A render of Rocket Lab's Photon
spacecraft orbiting Mars for the ESCAPADE mission. (Photo: Business
Wire)
The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers
(ESCAPADE) mission will orbit two Rocket Lab-built Photon
spacecraft around Mars to understand the structure, composition,
variability, and dynamics of Mars' unique hybrid magnetosphere. The
mission will also support crewed exploration programs like Artemis
through improved solar storm prediction.
ESCAPADE is the latest of only three missions proceeding under
the current round of NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary
Exploration (SIMPLEX) program to conduct compelling planetary space
science with small satellites and provide more opportunities for
flight experience to the science community. The ESCAPADE mission,
led by principal investigator Robert Lillis at the University of
California, Berkeley, is the latest SIMPLEX mission to pass Key
Decision Point-C (KDP-C), confirming it for implementation in
preparation for launch to Mars in 2024. The ESCAPADE mission is
managed by the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s Heliophysics
Division and will be the first Heliophysics mission to visit
another planet.
Following deployment from a NASA-provided commercial launch
vehicle, the pair of Photons will conduct an 11-month
interplanetary cruise before inserting themselves into elliptical
orbits around Mars to begin the science phase. Both Photons
incorporate satellite subsystems developed and manufactured by
Rocket Lab, including star trackers, reaction wheels, ranging
transceivers for deep space navigation, and in-space propulsion
systems. By leveraging vertically-integrated spacecraft
manufacturing, the ESCAPADE mission will be delivered at a fraction
of the cost of traditional planetary missions. This supports U.S.
national strategy for Decadal-class science by increasing the pace
of scientific discovery and more sustainable crewed exploration by
improving our understanding of the space environment.
Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO, Peter Beck, says “ESCAPADE is an
innovative mission that demonstrates that advanced interplanetary
science is now within reach for a fraction of traditional costs,
and we’re proud to make it possible with Photon,” he said. “Passing
the Key Decision Point is a critical milestone in ESCAPADE’s
development and is testament to the world-class science and
engineering work of the UC Berkeley and Rocket Lab teams. We are
delighted to receive the green light from NASA to proceed to
flight.”
ESCAPADE is one of several missions beyond Earth orbit currently
under development by Rocket Lab using the Photon spacecraft,
including the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon in support of NASA’s
Artemis program and Rocket Lab’s own privately-funded science
mission to Venus.
Images and video content:
www.rocketlabusa.com/news/updates/link-to-rocket-lab-imagery-and-video
About Rocket Lab:
Rocket Lab is a global leader in space, building rockets and
spacecraft that make it easier to get to orbit and to do amazing
things there. Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab provides end-to-end
mission services that provide frequent and reliable access to space
for civil, defense, and commercial markets. Headquartered in Long
Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron
and Neutron launch vehicles and Photon satellite platform. Rocket
Lab’s Electron launch vehicle is the second most frequently
launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered more than 100
satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations,
enabling operations in national security, scientific research,
space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and
communications. Rocket Lab and Vector Acquisition Corporation
(Nasdaq: VACQ), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition
company, announced a proposed business combination in the first
quarter of 2021 (https://bwnews.pr/3yBYYzd). Vector’s shareholders
voted to approve its proposed merger with Rocket Lab USA, Inc. at
its annual general meeting of shareholders held on August 20, 2021.
The merger is scheduled to close on August 25, 2021, and the common
stock and warrants of the combined company, which will be renamed
"Rocket Lab USA, Inc.", are set to commence trading on the Nasdaq
Capital Market on August 25, 2021, under the new ticker symbols,
“RKLB” and “RKLBW”, respectively.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, including statements regarding Vector’s, Rocket
Lab’s or their respective management teams’ expectations, hopes,
beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. The words
“anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”,
“intends”, “may”, “might”, “plan”, “possible”, “potential”,
“predict”, “project”, “should”, “would” and similar expressions may
identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words
does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These
forward-looking statements are based on Rocket Lab’s current
expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their
potential effects. Many factors could cause actual future events to
differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press
release, including but not limited to: (i) the risk that the
proposed transaction with Vector may not be completed in a timely
manner or at all, (ii) the failure to satisfy the conditions to the
consummation of the proposed transaction with Vector, including the
adoption of the merger agreement governing the proposed transaction
by Vector’s shareholders, and (iii) the occurrence of any event,
change or other circumstance that could give rise to the
termination of the merger agreement. There can be no assurance that
the future developments affecting Rocket Lab will be those that we
have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number
of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond Rocket Lab’s
control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or
performance to be materially different from those expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements. Except as required by
law, Rocket Lab is not undertaking any obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210823005300/en/
Rocket Lab Media Contact: Murielle Baker | +6427 538 9040
media@rocketlabusa.com
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