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That's a Funny Looking Cactus mission patch
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That's a Funny Looking Cactus

U.S. Air Force, York Space Systems
Sunday, May 5, 2019 06:00 AM UTC
Source: YouTube

Disclaimer: This livestream is from a third-party channel and is not an official Rocket Lab broadcast.

Name Origin

This unique mission name, typical of Rocket Lab's playful style, likely refers to an inside joke or specific observation related to the payload or mission during integration or testing. The exact 'cactus' reference is not publicly detailed.

"That's a Funny Looking Cactus"

Mission Overview

The mission has been procured by the DoD Space Test Program in partnership with Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) as part of its Rapid Agile Launch Initiative .The payload consists of three satellites, SPARC-1, Falcon ODE and Harbinger, that will deployed in a precise sequence. The Space Plug and Play Architecture Research CubeSat-1 (SPARC-1) mission, sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/RV), is a joint Swedish-United States experiment to explore technology developments in avionics miniaturization, software defined radio systems, and space situational awareness (SSA). The Falcon Orbital Debris Experiment (Falcon ODE), sponsored by the United States Air Force Academy, will evaluate ground-based tracking of space objects. Harbinger, a commercial small satellite built by York Space Systems and sponsored by the U.S Army, will demonstrate the ability of an experimental commercial system to meet DoD space capability requirements.

Technical Details

Vehicle
Electron
Launch Site
LC-1A
Unknown
Target Orbit
Low Earth Orbit
Mission Type
Dedicated Rideshare
Payload Mass
180 kg
≈ 72 kiwis
Customer
U.S. Air Force, York Space Systems