Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can was a Rocket Lab Electron mission for SNSA that launched successfully at 17:27 UTC on 4 November 2022 (6:27 a.m. NZDT on 5 November; 1:27 p.m. EDT on 4 November) from Launch Complex 1B on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.
17:27 UTC on 4 November 2022 · 6:27 a.m. NZDT on 5 November · 1:27 p.m. EDT on 4 November
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
-
Successful launch
by Nosu Source: twitter.com -
Liftoff
by Nosu Source: youtube.com -
Webcast live
by Nosu Source: youtube.com
Updates via Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs).
Name Origin
Dual reference: the 2002 Spielberg film starring DiCaprio and Hanks, and Rocket Lab's second helicopter booster catch attempt for the returning Electron first stage.
Mission Overview
The payload is a science research satellite by space systems provider OHB Sweden for the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA). The Mesospheric Airglow/Aerosol Tomography and Spectroscopy (MATS) satellite is the basis for the SNSA’s science mission to investigate atmospheric waves and better understand how the upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere interacts with wind and weather patterns closer to the ground. MATS was originally due to fly on a Russian launch service before the mission was manifested on Rocket Lab’s Electron.
Technical Details
20
kiwisLaunch data cross-checked against Wikipedia.
Was this a jellyfish launch?
UnlikelySun 5° above the horizon at liftoff — daylight, the sky is too bright.
Details
- Unlikely
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Liftoff
- 6:27 a.m. NZDT · 17:27 UTC
- Astronomical dawn (−18°)
- 4:12 a.m. NZDT · 15:12 UTC
- Nautical dawn (−12°)
- 4:50 a.m. NZDT · 15:50 UTC
- Civil dawn (−6°)
- 5:26 a.m. NZDT · 16:26 UTC
- Sunrise
- 5:55 a.m. NZDT · 16:55 UTC
Twilight times at the pad (Mahia, NZ) for the morning 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MATS 2022-147A · Payload | Operator Rymdstyrelsen | Built by OHB Sweden AB Innosat | Mass 54 kg | Orbit 539 × 558 km · 97.7° | Status On orbit | NORAD 54227 |
Electron 32 Kick Stage 2022-147B · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Kick Stage | Mass 40 kg | Orbit 449 × 460 km · 97.6° | Status On orbit | NORAD 54228 |
Electron 32 Stage 2 2022-147C · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Electron St2 | Mass 250 kg | Orbit 128 × 173 km · 97.5° | Status Decayed 2022-11-20 | NORAD 54229 |