In conjunction with Kennedy Space Center, the Space Force and the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA developed NAFTU to pull in GPS data to determine if a vehicle is off course and then automatically terminate the flight if needed. The technology has been in development and tested on sounding rockets and expendable launch vehicles in a test capacity, he said. “We’ve been working on autonomous flight safety systems since around 2002, with the vision from the DoD that this would provide for increased access to space, responsive space, while also lowering the cost of launch operations,” he said. ![]() facilities use autonomous termination systems by 2025, said David Pierce, director of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. The technology is critical for several reasons, not the least of which is that the Defense Department is requiring all space launches from U.S. 23.Īt the heart of the launch is a new technology designed to improve safety and reduce cost: NASA’s Autonomous Flight Termination Unit, or NAFTU. As of press time, the launch was scheduled for Jan. The inaugural launch was scheduled for December, but it missed several windows due to weather. facility will allow for increased launch tempo and different trajectories, Beck said. Rocket Lab has conducted 32 launches of the 59-foot, reusable Electron at its Complex 1 in New Zealand, and the U.S. … And it’s a new rocket to Virginia and to the Wallops Flight Facility.” “It’s a standing up of a new capability for the nation. “This flight just doesn’t symbolize another launchpad for Rocket Lab,” said CEO Peter Beck during a conference call with reporters prior to the launch. launch of New Zealand-based Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from its new Launch Complex 2 at NASA’s Wallops Island, Virginia, facility. The mission, titled “Virginia is for Launch Lovers,” will consist of the first U.S. From a distance, the upcoming launch in Virginia will look like any other craft blasting into space, but the technology on board the vehicle and the location will be firsts for the United States. ![]() The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will be open for this launch.Ī live launch webcast will be available at beginning about 40 minutes before launch.WASHINGTON, D.C. The Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Atlantic beaches also provide good viewing locations. Viewing locations on Chincoteague Island include Robert Reed Park on Main Street or Beach Road spanning the area between Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. ![]() The launch may be visible, weather permitting, to residents throughout much of the east coast of the United States. With this mission, NASA is helping foster a growing low-Earth space economy and continues Wallops’ 35-year history of support to the commercial launch industry. The launch window for the mission is 6 to 8 p.m. The 59-foot-tall Electron rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. The mission, named “Virginia is for Launch Lovers,” will deploy radio frequency monitoring satellites for HawkEye 360. NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility will support the launch of Rocket Lab USA’s first Electron rocket from Virginia at 6 p.m.
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