Rocket Lab scrubs 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 has scrubbed its launch attempt today, blaming unfavourable weather and orbital traffic - the International Space Station.

It says it will try again tomorrow.

The scrub was called shortly after the window opened at 2.30 pm.

''A combination of poor weather closing in and conjunction with the International Space Station left a narrow six-minute window for a launch attempt,'' a spokeswoman said.

A new attempt will be made no earlier than 2.30pm tomorrow. The launch will be livestreamed and can be viewed on nzherald.co.nz.

Conditions on the Mahia Peninsula had been good earlier for the launch which the company says could have taken place any time between 2.30pm and 6.30pm.

The company had warned the launch could, however, could 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 were put in place this morning.

A communications glitch meant the first 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.