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NZ rocket blasts off - and so will profits, maker says

[UPDATE: Whoops]

Just (cough) half a century after it began, New Zealand has entered the space race.

This afternoon, Rocket Lab’s Atea-1 “launch vehicle” (what most of us would call a rocket) blasted off.

Watch a TVNZ video of the launch here.

The one story-tall Atea-1 is carrying a test payload 120km into the heavens (space starts at 100km up; the international space station orbits at around 320km above us).

In the process, Atea-1 has become the first privately-funded rocket to launch from the Southern Hemisphere.

After reaching 120km, Atea-1 - and its payload - will arc back to Earth.

The launch took place on the Michael Fay-owned Great Mercury Island, east of the Coromandel, and Aetna-1 is expected to splash back to Earth close by.

The total flight time will only be around 30 minutes, but it is expected to take up to several days to locate the rocket somewhere in a 50km splashzone.

As its payload won't be placed into orbit, Rocket Lab pitches its launch vehicle as suitable for any scientific kit that needs to take a "sounding" in (brief) low orbit, micogravity conditions.

Compared to past and present US and Russian behemoths, Atea-1 is a tiddler - just 150mm wide and 6m tall.

And its payload is restricted to a modest 2kg (compared to the Space Shuttle's 22,700kg).

But Rocket Lab's chief executive Peter Beck told NBR that’s all the capacity his company needs for commercially successful launches (although larger rockets are planned).

Each launch Aetna-1 launch will cost a mere $50,000 to $100,000 - barely enough to buy a drinks holder for a Space Shuttle mission (Mr Beck disputes this sum, saying launch costs will vary hugely depending on the payload; custom design to accommodate the payload, and whether the payload needs to be recovered.)


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Mr Beck said he was grateful to the island’s owner, Sir Michael Fay, for allowing the launch after the originally planned site (Woomera in Australia) got booked out by the military.

Proof-of-concept
On its first voyage, Atea-1’s payload is primarily devoted to instruments monitoring its own performance - although limited payload space will be given over to successful bidders of twin auctions being run on TradeMe and eBay. Rocket Labs said the space was enough for a personal memento like a photo or jewellery. Ashes would also fit.

Mr Beck (right) said the chief object of the mission was to “qualify” the Atea-1 as a launch vehicle. This could take one flight, or more, depending on the degree of success of avionics and other elements.

No business like space business
Once Atea-1 is proven and begins commercial flights, every launch should be profitable, Mr Beck told NBR.

There is a queue of international clients waiting for the rocket to be qualified. Most are science organisations - Rocket Lab’s target market - but some are private companies.

Many companies are trying to get into low-cost, low-orbit launches but once Atea-1 is qualified, Rocket Labs will have a monopoly on commercial launches from the Southern Hemisphere, said Mr Beck.

Rocket Lab’s major competitors worldwide will be UP Aerospace, and Nasa’s own Wallops Island launch facility off the US eastern seaboard, which targets the same research market.

Up Aerospace uses solid fuel whereas Rocket Lab uses Rocket Lab’s key development is its unique polymer-based formulation - which it pitches as a major commercial advantage.

The privately-held Rocket Lab’s largest investor is internet entrepreneur Mark Rocket (who has already booked his ticket on Virgin Galactic’s pending sub-orbital service).

Government agency FRST (the Foundation for Research Science and Technology) has also kicked in $99,000.

Atea-1: Fast facts (courtesy Rocket Lab)
• Payload: 2kg
• Weight wet: 60kg
• Height: 6m
• Thrust: 83,000 Ns (3,200 Horsepower equivalent)
• Fuel: Polymer and Nitrous Oxide Hybrid
• Maximum acceleration: 16 G
• Terminal velocity: Mach 5 (5 times the speed of sound)
• Maximum altitude: 120 km
• Flight time: 30-40 minutes
• Engine burn time: 12-15 seconds

More by Chris Keall

Comments and questions
14

Absolutely fantastic! Way to go! The sky's not the limit, at least not anymore. Keep up the good work.

When and where will it come down?

This will fail, a burn time to 12-15 seconds, will get it know where near where it needs to be to get out of the earths gravitational pull, I will assume this will fail, they dont even know what a parabolic echelon is, this is critical for space launches

You are being a little harsh, Agreed its hardly a Proton , or a Ariane launch . The nearest would be a scud , full marks for trying however. At a real launch the heat from Ariane can be felt many miles away at the spectators area when it thunders off into the sky.

As for Parabolic Echelon , i assume you are refering to the network which provides tracking and relays all the telemetary data from the craft , I dont honesty think this squib was that sophisticated.

You can buy such toys as kits in the USA ,they would probably go just as far. however look where the rocketeer ended NASA!

The reason behind the 12-14 second burn time is limit the rockets altitude to ensure it returns to earth and collect the data. If you send it into orbital space its a bit hard to go up and get it to retrieve the data on a limited budget dont you think. Simply proof of concept and well done to the guys for trying and proving they could launch a rocket over 100km into the atmos. Now can they just build one with a big enough payload to load up some of NZ's dross and export them out of NZ vertically.

Oh ye of little faith.
Of course it worked !

Best Nerds, Geeks and Hoons in the world in my opinion

Well done guys !

You are sadly misinformed, the burn time of the booster was actually 22 seconds. and the second stage of approx 15 seconds.

And what are you on about with a "parabolic echelon" do you mean a parabolic satellite dish used with echelon?

And why is it that they do not know what one is?

In no way is anymore than an antenna required for their task.

Is a warning given to NZCAA for all aircraft? The launch Site is on the approach into Auckland International Airport!!!

[The site was chosen because it's a designated NZDF zone - so presumably airlines habitually give it a swerve. CK]

Glad ya not using our tax payer money well done! Need I say good luck

I modelled the trajectory based on Rocket Lab's numbers, and its pretty impressive - the engines burn for 14.5 secs by which time it is doing 6950 km/h or mach 5.85 and at 12.5 kms altitude. It then coasts to 119 kms and returns, spending about 270 secs or 4.5 mins in zero gravity before air drag kicks back in. It would be great to see it take off! It reaches 100m in 1.4 secs and 1 km in 4.4 secs. I calculated peak g's at about 20, which seems a bit high according to their web site.

Hello Huston.. Shhwwwiickk...
CONTROL>> HUSTON " Did you see that NZ Rocket '
REPLY: Yes we saw it ..
CONTROL:>> Does that thing have a drawing on it ??
REPLY >> yeah Sure does...
CONTROL>> Does it say HONE??
REPLY>> Sure does..
CONTROL>> Is that really travelling at 250Km per second ??
REPLY >> No sir its just NEW ZEALANDS DEBT $ 250 Mill A SECOND..

sWWIIICKKK >> oVER AND out !!!!!

There has been a lot of misinformation put about. This is not the first NZ rocket. I believe there were sounding rockets launched from Canterbury in the 1960's. And the rocketry association has annual firings, though these are mostly of fairly small rockets.

The sounding rockets you are referring to were USA built Arcas rockets, which only went to around 70km. even if they went to space I wouldn't call them New Zealands first rocket or space flight as thats like saying a country's first nuke is the one that attacked them.

the new zealand rocketry association fires more often than annually, about 5 times a year.

im consistently shocked by the stupidy of people on the internet (and in general, but they come out more on the internet). They are not trying to fire a rocket out of earths gravitational pull, nowhere near it - they are only attempting to breach the 100km limit of space. lee agston - you are the weakest link. (by the way if you were intelligent enough to understand then maybe you'd be building rockets not posting negative comments on a news site)