This One's For Pickering
This One's For Pickering was a Rocket Lab Electron mission for NASA that launched successfully at 06:33 UTC on 16 December 2018 (7:33 p.m. NZDT on 16 December; 1:33 a.m. EST on 16 December) from Launch Complex 1A on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.
06:33 UTC on 16 December 2018 · 7:33 p.m. NZDT on 16 December · 1:33 a.m. EST on 16 December
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 honors William Pickering, a pioneering New Zealand-born scientist who led NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was instrumental in early U.S. space exploration.
Mission Overview
NASA's signed a Venture Class Launch Services contract with Rocket Lab to launch 10 cubesats as a part of CubeSat Launch Initiative Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) program. Cubesats are: ALBus / CeREs / CHOMPTT / Da Vinci / ISX / NMTSat / RSat-P / Shields 1 / STF 1 / CubeSail A / CubeSail B /TOMSat EagleScout / TOMSat R3 / SHFT 1
Technical Details
31
kiwis- NASA ELaNa-19 rocketlabusa.com
Launch data cross-checked against Wikipedia.
Was this a jellyfish launch?
UnlikelySun 9° above the horizon at liftoff — daylight, the sky is too bright.
Details
- Unlikely
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Liftoff
- 7:33 p.m. NZDT · 06:33 UTC
- Sunset
- 8:31 p.m. NZDT · 07:31 UTC
- Civil dusk (−6°)
- 9:03 p.m. NZDT · 08:03 UTC
- Nautical dusk (−12°)
- 9:44 p.m. NZDT · 08:44 UTC
- Astronomical dusk (−18°)
- 10:31 p.m. NZDT · 09:31 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TOMSAT R3 2018-104A · Payload | Operator Aerospace Corp. | Built by Aerospace Corp. Cubesat 3U | Mass 4.7 kg | Orbit 138 × 150 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2023-12-29 | NORAD 43849 |
Shields 2018-104B · Payload | Operator NASA Langley Research Center | Built by NASA Langley Research Center Cubesat 3U | Mass 6.9 kg | Orbit 129 × 141 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2026-02-12 | NORAD 43850 |
Electron 4 Kick Stage 2018-104C · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Kick Stage | Mass 50 kg | Orbit 147 × 162 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2023-10-09 | NORAD 43851 |
STF-1 2018-104D · Payload | Operator NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / West Virginia University | Built by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / West Virginia University Cubesat 3U | Mass 3 kg | Orbit 159 × 170 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2024-02-20 | NORAD 43852 |
CeREs 2018-104E · Payload | Operator NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | Built by Blue Canyon Technologies Cubesat 3U | Mass 4.5 kg | Orbit 202 × 214 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2022-12-09 | NORAD 43853 |
RSat 2018-104F · Payload | Operator US Naval Academy | Built by US Naval Academy Cubesat 3U | Mass 3.1 kg | Orbit 202 × 212 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2023-09-24 | NORAD 43854 |
CHOMPTT 2018-104G · Payload | Operator University of Florida | Built by University of Florida Cubesat 3U | Mass 3.6 kg | Orbit 143 × 158 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2024-05-13 | NORAD 43855 |
ISX 2018-104H · Payload | Operator California Polytechnic State University | Built by California Polytechnic State University Cubesat 3U | Mass 3.5 kg | Orbit 171 × 189 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2024-05-17 | NORAD 43856 |
DaVinci 2018-104J · Payload | Operator North Idaho STEM Charter Academy / LCF Enterprises | Built by North Idaho STEM Charter Academy Cubesat 3U | Mass 3.4 kg | Orbit 231 × 236 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2023-02-09 | NORAD 43857 |
CubeSail USat 2018-104K · Payload | Operator University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign / Catholic University of America | Built by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign / Catholic University of America Cubesat 1.5U | Mass 1.5 kg | Orbit 138 × 158 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2024-07-02 | NORAD 43858 |
AlBUS 2018-104L · Payload | Operator NASA Glenn Research Center | Built by NASA Glenn Research Center Cubesat 3U | Mass 2.9 kg | Orbit 150 × 168 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2024-07-13 | NORAD 43859 |
Goergen 2018-104M · Payload | Operator Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency | Built by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Cubesat 3U | Mass 5.1 kg | Orbit 152 × 164 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2022-11-26 | NORAD 43860 |
TOMSAT Eagle Scout 2018-104N · Payload | Operator Aerospace Corp. | Built by Aerospace Corp. Cubesat 3U | Mass 5 kg | Orbit 139 × 152 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2024-02-07 | NORAD 43861 |
NMTSat 2018-104P · Payload | Operator New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | Built by New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Cubesat 3U | Mass 2.5 kg | Orbit 244 × 253 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2023-11-01 | NORAD 43862 |
Electron 4 Stage 2 2018-104Q · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Electron St2 | Mass 250 kg | Orbit 122 × 146 km · 85.0° | Status Decayed 2019-01-30 | NORAD 43863 |
