It's Business Time
It's Business Time was a Rocket Lab Electron mission for Fleet Space that launched successfully at 03:50 UTC on 11 November 2018 (4:50 p.m. NZDT on 11 November; 10:50 p.m. EST on 10 November) from Launch Complex 1A on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.
03:50 UTC on 11 November 2018 · 4:50 p.m. NZDT on 11 November · 10:50 p.m. EST on 10 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.
Name Origin
Named after the Flight of the Conchords song, referencing the beloved NZ comedy duo. Double meaning: a Kiwi cultural nod and a literal declaration that Rocket Lab had moved from test flights to paying commercial customers.
Mission Overview
Electron's first commercial launch will feature two Lemur-2 cubesats for Spire Global, a single cubesat for GeoOptics, a NABEO drag sail demonstrator for High Performance Space Structure Systems, an IRVINE01 cubesat from the Irvine CubeSat STEM Program, and two Proxima cubesats from Fleet Space Technologies.
Technical Details
18
kiwis- It's Business Time rocketlabusa.com
Launch data cross-checked against Wikipedia.
Was this a jellyfish launch?
UnlikelySun 34° above the horizon at liftoff — daylight, the sky is too bright.
Details
- Unlikely
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Liftoff
- 4:50 p.m. NZDT · 03:50 UTC
- Sunset
- 7:56 p.m. NZDT · 06:56 UTC
- Civil dusk (−6°)
- 8:26 p.m. NZDT · 07:26 UTC
- Nautical dusk (−12°)
- 9:02 p.m. NZDT · 08:02 UTC
- Astronomical dusk (−18°)
- 9:42 p.m. NZDT · 08:42 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CICERO-10 2018-088A · Payload | Operator GeoOptics Inc. | Built by Tyvak Nanosatellite Systems LLC Cubesat 6U | Mass 10 kg | Orbit 159 × 172 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2024-07-20 | NORAD 43690 |
Electron 3 Stage 2 2018-088B · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Electron St2 | Mass 250 kg | Orbit 144 × 167 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2018-12-29 | NORAD 43691 |
NABEO 'Pride of Bavaria' 2018-088C · Payload | Operator High Performance Space Structure Systems GmbH | Built by High Performance Space Structure Systems GmbH ADEO-N | Mass 1 kg | Orbit 156 × 165 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2023-11-10 | NORAD 43692 |
IRVINE01 2018-088D · Payload | Operator Irvine Public Schools Foundation | Built by Irvine Public Schools Foundation Cubesat 1U | Mass 1 kg | Orbit 152 × 167 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2023-01-31 | NORAD 43693 |
Proxima I 2018-088E · Payload | Operator Fleet Space Technologies Pty Ltd | Built by Fleet Space Technologies Pty Ltd Cubesat 1.5U | Mass 2 kg | Orbit 150 × 165 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2024-05-18 | NORAD 43694 |
Lemur-2-Zupanski 2018-088F · Payload | Operator Spire | Built by Spire/Glasgow Cubesat 3U | Mass 4.6 kg | Orbit 141 × 153 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2023-10-04 | NORAD 43695 |
Proxima II 2018-088G · Payload | Operator Fleet Space Technologies Pty Ltd | Built by Fleet Space Technologies Pty Ltd Cubesat 1.5U | Mass 2 kg | Orbit 139 × 155 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2024-05-20 | NORAD 43696 |
Lemur-2-Chanusiak 2018-088H · Payload | Operator Spire | Built by Spire/Glasgow Cubesat 3U | Mass 4.6 kg | Orbit 139 × 159 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2023-08-31 | NORAD 43697 |