New Zealand startup successfully launches rocket • Hacker News Board

Re: New Zealand startup successfully launches rocket

#11

Post by igni » Mon, Jan 22, 2018, 2:28 AM UTC

JshWright wrote: post #6

marktangotango wrote: post #5

Though the launch was only a test, Rocket Lab managed to launch three satellites into orbit for tracking shipping, weather and imaging. Orbital class rocket, not bad. Also, made it to orbit on the second attempt, beat Spacex by two launches :P The Rutherford engine sea level Isp of 303 on RP1/LOX is damn impressive.

Isp is awesome, TWR... not so much. The electric turbopumps are a big propellant efficiency win, but aren't without other costs.

I was surprised to hear they were using LION packs, dropped mid second-stage. I'm not sure why but I expected super-capacitors or maybe flywheels arranged gyroscopically within the stages. Batteries are heavy - but must be the best fit for now.

Re: New Zealand startup successfully launches rocket

#12

Post by jimjimjim » Mon, Jan 22, 2018, 2:30 AM UTC

toomanybeersies wrote: post #8

It's interesting seeing the difference between the publicity that SpaceX gets, and the publicity of other rocket companies like RocketLab get. It shows how effective the PR machine for SpaceX is. RocketLabs launch is pretty significant, considering it's the first orbital launch of a rocket designed and built in a small nation. This has barely hit the news. I guess part of the reason is that it's not in the USA, and t…

yep, it's quite amazing how little reporting of this there has been from US sites. news sites from other countries had much more coverage.

Re: New Zealand startup successfully launches rocket

#13

Post by mwilcox » Mon, Jan 22, 2018, 2:32 AM UTC

bmcusick wrote: post #10

What they’ve accomplished is amazing engineering. I’m sort of scratching my head at the economics though. Their cost to orbit is about $15,000/kg. That’s more expensive than the Space Shuttle was. And the CEO has said they’re not working on reusability. Their goal of rapid manufacturing and frequent launches seems laudable in an expendable launch vehicle world. I’m not sure how they plan to survive when SpaceX and Bl…

Purely scale / number of launches. They're certified to launch up to 120 times per year.

Re: New Zealand startup successfully launches rocket

#14

Post by Denzel » Mon, Jan 22, 2018, 2:38 AM UTC

toomanybeersies wrote: post #8

It's interesting seeing the difference between the publicity that SpaceX gets, and the publicity of other rocket companies like RocketLab get. It shows how effective the PR machine for SpaceX is. RocketLabs launch is pretty significant, considering it's the first orbital launch of a rocket designed and built in a small nation. This has barely hit the news. I guess part of the reason is that it's not in the USA, and t…

Seems par for the course don't you think, SpaceX didn't receive much coverage for their grasshopper tests or Falcon 1 flights either? In fact, most of their coverage has just come in the last couple of years after working diligently for ~13 years prior to that.

Ironically I was led to watch RocketLabs launch by r/SpaceX.

Re: New Zealand startup successfully launches rocket

#15

Post by bacon_waffle » Mon, Jan 22, 2018, 2:43 AM UTC

toomanybeersies wrote: post #8

It's interesting seeing the difference between the publicity that SpaceX gets, and the publicity of other rocket companies like RocketLab get. It shows how effective the PR machine for SpaceX is. RocketLabs launch is pretty significant, considering it's the first orbital launch of a rocket designed and built in a small nation. This has barely hit the news. I guess part of the reason is that it's not in the USA, and t…

Beyond not having nuclear weapons to put on a rocket - we're quite disinterested in having anything to do with them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_nuclear-free_zone

Re: New Zealand startup successfully launches rocket

#16

Post by igravious » Mon, Jan 22, 2018, 2:44 AM UTC

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #9

As always, Scott Manley is an excellent source of commentary: https://youtu.be/U5k1mlu6A7I No transcript, but it's a short video.

Thanks for the link. Super informative commentary. That might have to become a goto YouTube channel of mine seeing as how the frequency of rocket launches is ramping up.

Re: New Zealand startup successfully launches rocket

#17

Post by sundvor » Mon, Jan 22, 2018, 2:44 AM UTC

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #9

As always, Scott Manley is an excellent source of commentary: https://youtu.be/U5k1mlu6A7I No transcript, but it's a short video.

Brilliant video, thanks! Scott Manley's videos are most excellent - this includes but is not limited to his Elite Dangerous and Kerbal Space Program ones.

Re: New Zealand startup successfully launches rocket

#18

Post by syedkarim » Mon, Jan 22, 2018, 2:48 AM UTC

bmcusick wrote: post #10

What they’ve accomplished is amazing engineering. I’m sort of scratching my head at the economics though. Their cost to orbit is about $15,000/kg. That’s more expensive than the Space Shuttle was. And the CEO has said they’re not working on reusability. Their goal of rapid manufacturing and frequent launches seems laudable in an expendable launch vehicle world. I’m not sure how they plan to survive when SpaceX and Bl…

Their differentiation is the ticket price: $5M, for now. A SpaceX F9 is $60M. The cost per kg may be an order of magnitude greater, but so is the ticket price.

Re: New Zealand startup successfully launches rocket

#19

Post by inamberclad » Mon, Jan 22, 2018, 2:49 AM UTC

bmiranda wrote: post #3

kirrent wrote: post #2

The electron is a really cool rocket. It's constructed using carbon composite tanks and uses Rocketlab's Rutherford engine. The engine is constructed using a large amount of 3d printing and uses battery powered electrically driven fuel pumps.

It's worth mentioning that while electric turbopumps are a lot better that pressure-fed designs, for larger engines they aren't as effective as using pre-burners (due to the weight of the batteries). It does make the design much simpler, though.

The weight is an issue here too. It's something like 200kg of battery in the first stage. The second stage is designed to use its batteries one by one, and them drop them as they're expended.

Re: New Zealand startup successfully launches rocket

#20

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jan 22, 2018, 2:52 AM UTC

bmiranda wrote: post #3

kirrent wrote: post #2

The electron is a really cool rocket. It's constructed using carbon composite tanks and uses Rocketlab's Rutherford engine. The engine is constructed using a large amount of 3d printing and uses battery powered electrically driven fuel pumps.

It's worth mentioning that while electric turbopumps are a lot better that pressure-fed designs, for larger engines they aren't as effective as using pre-burners (due to the weight of the batteries). It does make the design much simpler, though.

[deleted]