Rocket Lab has announced plans to deploy global wildfire detection satellites with OroraTech.
Takeaway Points
- Rocket Lab has announced plans to deploy global wildfire detection satellites with OroraTech.
- The company will expand their constellation with up to 100 satellites in total by 2028.
- Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success.
What did Rocket Lab launch?
Rocket Lab USA, Inc., a global leader in launch services and space systems, said on Wednesday that it has signed a contract for a responsive launch on Electron with Orora Technologies (OroraTech), a German company developing a satellite constellation to monitor wildfires and alert first responders to danger.
Launching from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, the dedicated mission on Electron will install eight satellites to a 550km orbit within four months from the launch contract signing, allowing OroraTech to meet the season-sensitive requirements of its wildfire detection mission, the company said.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, said, “This launch is a showcase of all the benefits of flying dedicated on Electron: control over schedule, agility and ability to meet tight deadlines and mission requirements, and the reliability of launching on the world’s most frequently launched small orbital rocket. Knowing that time is of the essence to get these satellites in space, we’re proud to be rising to the challenge and supporting the OroraTech mission to better monitor for and protect against these devastating natural disasters globally.”
What is OroraTech developing?
Rocket Lab said that OroraTech is developing a constellation of satellites with thermal infrared cameras that can provide 24/7 monitoring of wildfires globally, supporting better and faster wildfire response to protect forests, people, and infrastructure worldwide.
The company will expand their constellation with up to 100 satellites in total by 2028, Rocket lab added.
About Rocket Lab
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier, and more affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle, the HASTE suborbital launch vehicle for hypersonic tests, a family of flight proven spacecraft, and the larger Neutron launch vehicle for constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually. Rocket Lab has deployed 200+ payloads from its launch sites in the United States and New Zealand for private and public sector organizations, enabling operations in national security, scientific research, space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Rocket Lab’s family of spacecraft have been selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a third launch pad in Virginia. To learn more, visit www.rocketlabusa.com.
