New Zealand Launches, But Australia Doesn't

The 68th Electron rocket was launched last weekend, deploying a single satellite to space for a confidential commercial customer. The mission was the second of two launches for Rocket Lab from the same launch site in less than 48 hours, a new launch record for the company.

The ‘Symphony In The Stars’ mission lifted-off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand on June 28th to deploy a single spacecraft to a circular Earth orbit. The mission was the first of two dedicated launches for the new customer on Electron booked less than four months ago, with a second mission scheduled before the end of 2025.

Rocket Lab has now completed four launches in June for commercial satellite constellation operators.

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ESA has selected Rocket Lab to deploy the first pair of satellites for a future navigation constellation for Europe, LEO-PNT. The company will launch two Pathfinder A spacecraft for ESA, provided by European satellite prime contractors Thales Alenia Space and GMV, from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 no earlier than December 2025.

The spacecraft will be deployed to low Earth orbit as part of a mission to test a new approach of providing location, direction, and timing services from satellites in low orbit. The demonstration mission will assess how a low Earth orbit fleet of satellites can work in combination with the Galileo and EGNOS constellations in higher orbits that provide Europe’s own global navigation system.

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But across the Tasman Sea in Australia, the Gilmour Space Eris Rocket remains on the ground waiting for its first test flight. In a statement posted on the company website, Gilmour Space said that they had made the "tough call to postpone this week’s launch. This pause to give us a longer, more flexible launch window for our first test flight, and our team a chance to rest after an intense few weeks of testing and prep."

The company said on Thursday that its new target launch date is now not earlier than Thursday, July 16th.

The launch has been on hold since May, when a payload fairing system malfunctioned on the launch pad, causing a fairing to dislodge from the spacecraft. The company says it has installed additional safeguards to prevent the malfunction from happening again.

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A technology center expansion aimed at scaling up the production and delivery of Surface Mount Technology (SMT) solar power systems, including production for national defense applications, has been announced by Sierra Space.

Located in Broomfield, Colorado, Sierra Space’s Power Station is a new production facility that will house world-class manufacturing capabilities to produce Surface Mount Technology (SMT) defense-hardened solar arrays, which provide best-in-class power density, resiliency, and production lead times.

In addition to the SMT production lines, the $45 million facility also houses new tooling and an integrated test center that includes thermal vacuum/thermal air chambers, and a dynamics lab for