Baby Come Back
Baby Come Back was a Rocket Lab Electron mission that launched successfully at 01:27 UTC on 18 July 2023 (1:27 p.m. NZST on 18 July; 9:27 p.m. EDT on 17 July) from Launch Complex 1B on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.
01:27 UTC on 18 July 2023 · 1:27 p.m. NZST on 18 July · 9:27 p.m. EDT on 17 July
Mission State
This mission currently has a dated launch window in the tracker.
The primary watch link points to an official Rocket Lab source.
Launch Updates
-
Mission success confirmed
by JRascagneres Source: twitter.com -
Liftoff
by JRascagneres Source: youtube.com -
Livestream has started
by LL2 Source: youtube.com
Updates via Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs).
Name Origin
This mission name playfully references the 1979 hit song 'Baby Come Back' by Player. It's a catchy, thematic choice, likely evoking the sentiment of successful mission completion and return.
Mission Overview
The "Baby Come Back" mission includes NASA's Starling project, which consists of four CubeSats designed to test technologies for future swarm missions. Telesat contributes the LEO 3 demonstration satellite, ensuring continuity for customers and ecosystem vendor testing. Additionally, two 3U satellites carrying GNSS-RO payloads from SpinGlobal will replenish their constellation of over 100 multipurpose satellites.
Technical Details
34
kiwisLaunch data cross-checked against Wikipedia.
Was this a jellyfish launch?
UnlikelySun 27° above the horizon at liftoff — daylight, the sky is too bright.
Details
- Unlikely
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Liftoff
- 1:27 p.m. NZST · 01:27 UTC
- Sunset
- 5:06 p.m. NZST · 05:06 UTC
- Civil dusk (−6°)
- 5:35 p.m. NZST · 05:35 UTC
- Nautical dusk (−12°)
- 6:08 p.m. NZST · 06:08 UTC
- Astronomical dusk (−18°)
- 6:40 p.m. NZST · 06:40 UTC
Twilight times at the pad (Mahia, NZ) for the evening of the launch.
What's a rocket jellyfish? When a rocket launches in twilight, the ground is dark but its exhaust plume climbs into sunlight high above. The expanding plume glows against the dark sky in a jellyfish-like shape.
Space-Object Catalog
| Object | Operator | Built by | Mass | Orbit | Status | NORAD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starling 4 2023-100A · Payload | Operator NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field | Built by Blue Canyon Technologies Cubesat 6U | Mass 12 kg | Orbit 540 × 550 km · 99.5° | Status On orbit | NORAD 57386 |
Starling 2 2023-100B · Payload | Operator NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field | Built by Blue Canyon Technologies Cubesat 6U | Mass 12 kg | Orbit 541 × 549 km · 99.5° | Status On orbit | NORAD 57387 |
Starling 1 2023-100C · Payload | Operator NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field | Built by Blue Canyon Technologies Cubesat 6U | Mass 12 kg | Orbit 542 × 548 km · 99.5° | Status On orbit | NORAD 57388 |
Starling 3 2023-100D · Payload | Operator NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field | Built by Blue Canyon Technologies Cubesat 6U | Mass 12 kg | Orbit 521 × 529 km · 99.5° | Status On orbit | NORAD 57389 |
Lemur-2-Mano 2023-100E · Payload | Operator Spire | Built by Spire/Glasgow Cubesat 3U | Mass 5 kg | Orbit 135 × 164 km · 99.4° | Status Decayed 2026-05-25 | NORAD 57390 |
Lemur-2-Deverill-M-T 2023-100F · Payload | Operator Spire | Built by Spire/Glasgow Cubesat 3U | Mass 5 kg | Orbit 426 × 432 km · 99.4° | Status On orbit | NORAD 57391 |
Telesat LEO 3 2023-100G · Payload | Operator Telesat Canada (Loral) | Built by UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory Defiant | Mass 30 kg | Orbit 991 × 1,019 km · 99.6° | Status On orbit | NORAD 57392 |
Electron 39 Kick Stage 2023-100H · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Kick Stage | Mass 40 kg | Orbit 449 × 868 km · 99.3° | Status On orbit | NORAD 57393 |
Electron 39 Stage 2 2023-100J · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Electron St2 | Mass 250 kg | Orbit 139 × 174 km · 99.4° | Status Decayed 2023-08-03 | NORAD 57394 |