The Electron at Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1. Photo: Rocket Lab.

Spaceflight announced the purchase of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket to increase the frequency of its dedicated rideshare missions. According to Spaceflight, the Electron is an ideal launch vehicle for dedicated and rideshare missions, especially those serving difficult-to-come-by launch destinations such as mid-inclination orbits for remote sensing satellites.

“The Electron is an entirely carbon-composite vehicle that is designed to carry payloads of 225kg to an elliptical orbit and up to 150kg to a nominal 500km sun synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO),” said Peter Beck, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rocket Lab.

In late 2015, Spaceflight began its dedicated rideshare launch service with the purchase of a SpaceX Falcon 9 and now expands the rocket partnership to Rocket Lab with the Electron. Spaceflight has launched more than 100 satellites to date from a variety of launch vehicles including the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Dnepr, Antares, Cygnus, Soyuz and others. The frequency of satellite launches, combined with Spaceflight’s cross-section of customers and variety of mission-applications, is a strong indicator of the growing capabilities of small satellites and the need for more timely and cost-effective access to space, according the company.

Spaceflight has not yet announced a date for the Electron dedicated rideshare mission.