Ice AIS Baby
Ice AIS Baby was a Rocket Lab Electron mission for Kinéis that launched successfully at 03:55 UTC on 25 November 2024 (4:55 p.m. NZDT on 25 November; 10:55 p.m. EST on 24 November) from Launch Complex 1B on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.
03:55 UTC on 25 November 2024 · 4:55 p.m. NZDT on 25 November · 10:55 p.m. EST on 24 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
-
Launch success.
by Cosmic_Penguin Source: x.com -
All satellites have separated.
by Cosmic_Penguin Source: youtube.com -
Liftoff.
by Cosmic_Penguin Source: youtube.com
Updates via Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs).
Name Origin
Pun on "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice, replacing the second "Ice" with "AIS" (Automatic Identification System) — the maritime tracking technology in Kineis's satellite constellation.
Mission Overview
Third batch of five satellites for the French Kinéis IoT constellation designed to operate with 25 nanosatellites of 30 kg each.
Technical Details
60
kiwisLaunch data cross-checked against Wikipedia.
Was this a jellyfish launch?
UnlikelySun 36° above the horizon at liftoff — daylight, the sky is too bright.
Details
- Unlikely
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Liftoff
- 4:55 p.m. NZDT · 03:55 UTC
- Sunset
- 8:13 p.m. NZDT · 07:13 UTC
- Civil dusk (−6°)
- 8:44 p.m. NZDT · 07:44 UTC
- Nautical dusk (−12°)
- 9:22 p.m. NZDT · 08:22 UTC
- Astronomical dusk (−18°)
- 10:06 p.m. NZDT · 09:06 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kineis-5C 2024-219A · Payload | Operator Kineis | Built by Kineis Cubesat 16U | Mass 28 kg | Orbit 651 × 656 km · 97.9° | Status On orbit | NORAD 62081 |
Kineis-5D 2024-219B · Payload | Operator Kineis | Built by Kineis Cubesat 16U | Mass 28 kg | Orbit 650 × 655 km · 97.9° | Status On orbit | NORAD 62082 |
Kineis-5E 2024-219C · Payload | Operator Kineis | Built by Kineis Cubesat 16U | Mass 28 kg | Orbit 650 × 658 km · 97.9° | Status On orbit | NORAD 62083 |
Kineis-5A 2024-219D · Payload | Operator Kineis | Built by Kineis Cubesat 16U | Mass 28 kg | Orbit 651 × 656 km · 97.9° | Status On orbit | NORAD 62084 |
Kineis-5B 2024-219E · Payload | Operator Kineis | Built by Kineis Cubesat 16U | Mass 28 kg | Orbit 633 × 635 km · 98.0° | Status On orbit | NORAD 62085 |
Electron 56 Kick Stage 2024-219F · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Kick Stage | Mass 50 kg | Orbit 540 × 609 km · 98.0° | Status On orbit | NORAD 62086 |
Electron 56 Stage 2 2024-219G · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Electron St2 | Mass 250 kg | Orbit 128 × 185 km · 97.9° | Status Decayed 2024-12-07 | NORAD 62087 |
