Step closer for Rocket Lab's second test launch

Rocket Lab's second test launch is set to carry payloads. Photo / File

The second rocket launch from Northern Hawke's Bay is not far away, with the Electron rocket ready and waiting at a launch complex on Mahia Peninsula.

Rocket Lab's second Electron launch vehicle recently arrived at Launch Complex 1, signalling the beginning of pre-flight checks ahead of their second test flight.

The rocket will go through a series of final checks and tests in the coming weeks before a yet-to-be-announced launch window opens.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said the rocket was performing well through rigorous acceptance tests, and their team was focused on final flight preparations.

"It's a great feeling to have another rocket on the pad. To be preparing for a second flight just months after an inaugural test is unprecedented for a new launch vehicle. It's a testament to Electron's robust design and the hard-working team behind it," he said.

"The Still Testing flight is a significant milestone in opening access to space and unlocking the potential that holds in improving the everyday lives of millions of people."

The flight is the second of three in the Auckland-based company's Electron test programme and follows a successful inaugural test flight in May.

When it launches, the vehicle will carry clients' payloads - two Earth-imaging Dove satellites for Planet and two Lemur-2 satellites from Spire for weather mapping and ship-traffic tracking.

Carrying payloads was said to be a significant step for the Electron program, enabling Rocket Lab to gather crucial data and test systems for the deployment stage of a mission.

"Improved weather and natural disaster prediction, internet from space and real-time crop monitoring are just a fraction of the benefits of more frequent and cost-effective access to low Earth orbit."

Wairoa mayor Craig Little said this was an exciting development, as once the tests were completed and commercial phase begun, "it's the big time for Wairoa".

With this launch closer to summer, he said there would be a much better window for launching because the weather would be a lot more settled, with better visibility for people to watch.

Eager spectators are expected to try to catch a glimpse of the second test-flight attempt.

"I'd say if people are on holiday and know it's going to happen, well it's going to be pretty cool".

The Wairoa District Council would be "doing their bit" to help with traffic management, with the popular peninsula likely to be more populated than it was in May.

The council has developed a viewing area in Nuhaka - between Wairoa and Mahia - which could be developed further once commercial launches begin.

The first test launch had to be terminated before it reached orbit because of an issue with an independent contractor's ground equipment.