New Zealand based space company Rocket Lab is gearing up for the second test launch of its Electron rocket.
The launch will take place during a ten-day window starting from December 8 at the company's launch complex on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
It follows an inaugural test carried out in May in which the Electron rocket made it to space but not to orbit after a communication error forced controllers to terminate the flight.
"We analysed more than 25,000 channels of data from flight one, and we're eager to learn more from this test flight," Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Peter Beck said.
It is the second of three test launches planned ahead of commercial operations and the first carrying customer payloads.
Rocket Lab's mission is to remove barriers to commercial space by providing frequent launch opportunities. The company, owned by a US parent company, aims to offer weekly launches to commercial clients at a cost of about 4.9 million dollars. In comparison, there were 82 launches worldwide last year.
Rocket Lab's Electron rocket uses 3D-printed engines and is designed to send small payloads, such as imaging and communications satellites weighing up to 150 kilograms, into space.
