Pics Or It Didn’t Happen
Pics Or It Didn’t Happen was a Rocket Lab Electron mission that ended in a launch failure after lifting off at 21:19 UTC on 4 July 2020 (9:19 a.m. NZST on 5 July; 5:19 p.m. EDT on 4 July) from Launch Complex 1A on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.
21:19 UTC on 4 July 2020 · 9:19 a.m. NZST on 5 July · 5:19 p.m. EDT on 4 July
Mission Failure
Mission did not achieve its intended objectives
Launch vehicle suffered an anomaly during the second stage that resulted in the loss of the mission and all satellite payloads.
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
This mission name, "Pics Or It Didn't Happen," is a playful modern idiom, humorously referencing the customer, Canon Electronics, a leader in photographic technology. It highlights the expectation of vivid documentation for this rideshare mission.
Mission Overview
‘Pics Or It Didn’t Happen’ is the 13th mission for Rocket Lab. It was planned to deploy seven imaging small satellites to a 500km circular low Earth orbit for a range of customers including Spaceflight Inc.’s customer Canon Electronics, as well as Planet and In-Space Missions.
Technical Details
30
kiwis- Pics Or It Didn't Happen rocketlabusa.com
Launch data cross-checked against Wikipedia.
Was this a jellyfish launch?
UnlikelySun 16° above the horizon at liftoff — daylight, the sky is too bright.
Details
- Unlikely
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Liftoff
- 9:19 a.m. NZST · 21:19 UTC
- Astronomical dawn (−18°)
- 5:52 a.m. NZST · 17:52 UTC
- Nautical dawn (−12°)
- 6:25 a.m. NZST · 18:25 UTC
- Civil dawn (−6°)
- 6:58 a.m. NZST · 18:58 UTC
- Sunrise
- 7:28 a.m. NZST · 19:28 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.