Rocket Lab plans another launch inside two weeks

Rocket Lab will attempt another commercial rocket launch from Mahia inside two weeks - and then put Nasa mini-satellites into orbit by Christmas.

The United States-based company confirmed a nine-day launch window for its upcoming "It's Business Time" mission would start on November 11, with daily launch opportunities between 4pm and 8pm.

An Electron launch vehicle was now site at Launch Complex 1 at Onenui Station and was undergoing final pre-launch checkouts, following a final successful stage one static fire test last week.

As operations for the "It's Business Time" launch are underway, Rocket Lab has scaled its team and facilities to enable concurrent operations for the upcoming Nasa mission, scheduled to launch in December 2018.

The Electron vehicle for Nasa's Elana XIX payloads will undergo final stage testing in the coming weeks before delivery to Launch Complex 1 during launch operations.

Rocket Lab also recently completed two new clean room facilities at Launch Complex 1 to enable payloads for different missions to undergo payload integration simultaneously in separate, secure locations.

Each 100k class clean room is equipped with lifting and break-over tools, as well as secure and dedicated customer lounges offering views of payload integration.

"This year has been about scaling our team, facilities and processes to enable reliable, high frequency Electron launches to orbit," Rocket Lab Founder and chief executive Peter Beck said.

"The ability to build and test multiple vehicles, while operating concurrent launch campaigns, strongly positions Rocket Lab as the industry leader opening access to space for small satellites."

Rocket Lab scrubbed two previous attempts to launch the company's "It's Business Time" mission from Rocket Lab's launch facility at Mahia Peninsula earlier this year, due to a combination of technical and weather-related issues.