Vector’s test flight vehicle takes off from Spaceport Camden. Photo: Vector Space Systems.

Vector, a NewSpace microsatellite launch provider, conducted a successful suborbital flight of its B0.002 test vehicle, a full-scale prototype of the company’s Vector-R launch vehicle. The launch is the first out of Spaceport Camden in Georgia, which was originally used by NASA in the 1960s for ground-based static fire testing of large solid rocket motors.

One of the test’s primary objectives was the demonstration and evaluation of a next-generation additively manufactured engine injector developed through a collaborative research program with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. This injector was ground tested last month and an earlier version was used in Vector’s initial B0.001 launch vehicle in May. This launch also marked the first time Vector attempted to start the booster main engine with spark igniter technology developed with University of Alabama-Huntsville and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

Hot of the press… amazing video of our launch today at @CamdenSpaceport pic.twitter.com/QBtPlCs8zs

— VECTOR (@vectorspacesys) August 3, 2017

This most recent test comes on the heels of a $21 million Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Shasta Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners. With this most recent round of funding, Vector stated it will accelerate its flight test series, develop its first GalacticSky satellites, open its Silicon Valley Headquarters and break ground on a rocket factory in Pima County, Arizona.