Rocket Lab go for launch of Electron test vehicle from New Zealand launch pad

The liquid oxygen-and-kerosene powered rocket will reach a speed of 27,000km/h to reach orbit.

Rocket Lab says it will attempt a launch of its second Electron vehicle "Still Testing" today.

Conditions on the Mahia Peninsula are good for the launch which the company says could take place any time between 2.30pm and 6.30pm.

The launch could, however, be scrubbed within seconds of the scheduled liftoff for technical reasons or because of a shift in weather conditions.

Road and marine closures in the vicinity have been put in place this morning.

Rocket Lab says it will issue more updates and livestream details throughout the day. The launch will be available through nzherald.co.nz.

In May the New Zealand-founded company successfully reached space in a global first from a private launch facility.

A communications glitch meant the flight had to be terminated before reaching orbit but Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Peter Beck has said while thrilled with the first launch, the company has learned from thousands of pieces of data.

On Friday, Beck said ''the vehicle is very solid and the team's feeling very good. But it is a test flight and we've got more to learn''.

The 17m-tall Electron orbital launch vehicle will carry two Earth-imaging Dove satellites for Planet and two Lemur-2 satellites from Spire for weather mapping and ship traffic tracking.

If needed the company will launch a third test flight but it is keen to accelerate its transition into full commercial operations.

Rocket Lab says it has an advantage over larger competitors — some spun from space programmes developed by superpowers — because its smaller rockets can be launched more frequently from an area with very little air traffic.

The only large passenger aircraft that flies regularly in the vicinity is a LATAM Dreamliner that links Auckland and Santiago in Chile.