The private leader in building small rockets is evolving its business with a service that may well revolutionize how spacecraft are built, be it by start-ups or even the milit
div > div.group > p:first-child"> Rocket Lab unveiled the"Photon satellite platform" on Monday, which the company developed and built as an evolution of the upper stage of its Electron rocket. An upper stage is the smaller top section of a rocket that separates from the bottom"booster" stage of the rocket.
Rocket Lab's primary business is building and launching small rockets, which send spacecraft about the size of a refrigerator into orbit. The company's Electron rocket is priced at about $6.5 million to $7 million per launch but now, due to the expanded capabilities provided by Photon, Beck said the price"goes anywhere up" from there.
"Launch was the first bit that we needed to solve ... but it always seemed crazy to me" that the rocket builder did not also build the hardware for a satellite, Beck said. Photon means satellite companies don't need to"invest millions of dollars" in bringing together a team and manufacturing complex space hardware.
The company calls Photon a highly-evolved version of the company's"kick stage," which Rocket Lab has successfully used four times to deliver payloads to specific orbits.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lab-grown meat could hit supermarkets in 5 years - Reuters TVLab-grown meat, cultured from the stem cells of animals, is considered by many to be a sustainable and ethical solution to the demands of the meat industry.
Read more »
Before their blind date, they both felt a lot of pressure. Then they locked eyes.Date Lab | This might be one for the history books.
Read more »
Morgan Stanley says this is the up-and-coming space company to watchThere's a burgeoning sector within the space industry of small, privately-built rockets and Morgan Stanley highlighted Rocket Lab as a disruptive front-runner.
Read more »
How Far Could A Human Travel In A Constantly-Accelerating Rocket Ship?Imagine you had perfect technology and unlimited fuel. How far could you go?
Read more »
Trump calls on Fed to turn U.S. economy into 'rocket ship'Donald Trump called on the Federal Reserve to take drastic action to support the U.S. economy, about an hour after new data showed strong jobs numbers and healthy wage growth
Read more »
Trump says economy would take off like 'a rocket ship' if Fed cut rates, ending tightening policyPresident Donald Trump told reporters on the White House lawn on Friday that if the Federal Reserve cut interest rates then the U.S. economy would climb like 'a rocket ship.'
Read more »
Falcon Heavy launch 2019: Everything you need to know about SpaceX's next rocket launchThe Falcon Heavy is the most powerful rocket currently in operation.
Read more »
SpaceX test fires Starship prototype rocket in TexasSpaceX fired up its prototype Starship rocket on Wednesday evening at the company's facility in southern Texas, CEO Elon Musk confirmed in a tweet.
Read more »
SpaceX test-fires engine on massive new Starship for first timeThe “hopper” version of the Starship rocket — dubbed Starhopper — did not leave the ground, but its powerful Raptor engine fired briefly while tethered to...
Read more »