Rocket Lab, a launch service provider based in Long Beach CA, launched a rideshare payload on April 23 from its launch complex in New Zealand. I’ve been tracking that launch because aboard the Electron rocket was an experimental solar sail that NASA is developing to study boom deployment. This is important stuff, because the lightweight materials we need to maximize payload and performance are evolving, and so are boom deployment methods. Hence the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3),... Read this story
