Rocket Lab Preps Electron Rocket for Next Military Satellite Launch

Rocket Lab is set to launch three military satellites into space aboard its Electron rocket on May 4 and plans to stage the first on-orbit demonstration of a York Space System-built satellite for the U.S. Army, SpaceNews reported Friday. 

York developed the Harbinger spacecraft for the Army under the Department of Defense’s Rapid Agile Launch Initiative. 

The service branch will use the satellite to test the rapid deployment of a low-cost commercial satellite and determine if such inexpensive spacecraft can quickly deliver Earth imagery to soldiers.

Charles Beames, executive chairman of York, said the Army Harbinger mission will be the first time the startup will demonstrate its technology on orbit. 

“We have a lot of customers in various stages of contracting,” Beames told SpaceNews. “When its on-orbit, it’s a dramatic reduction in perceived risk for our customers.”

Along with Harbinger, Rocket Lab will launch the joint U.S.-Swedish Space Plug-and-Play Architecture Research Cubesat and the Air Force Academy’s Falcon Orbital Debris Experiment.