Monday, November 12, 2018

Rocket Lab Successfully Launches Payload To Space

Huntington Beach-based Rocket Lab, one of Southern California's new crop of space and rocket startups, has launched its first commercial payload to space, successfully sending its first paying payload to space on Sunday. Rocket Lab successfully put six small satellites into orbit into low earth orbit. The launch is the second, orbital launch for Rocket Lab, which is led by Peter Beck. Rocket Lab's small rockets--unlike those from another Los Angeles area company, SpaceX--are designed solely for launching small satellites, CubeSats, and other payloads into space. The company also has competition from Virgin Orbit, a space satellite launch company based in Mojave and backed by Richard Branson, and Mojave-based Stratolaunch, a startup which was backed by recently deceased Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen.

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