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Kennedy Space Center brings back LC-39A gantry viewing for the first time since the pandemic began – available for Boeing’s OFT-2

You might be familiar with the LC-39A Observation Gantry if you’re an avid launch viewer. For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began back in 2020, the visitor complex is offering tickets to view a rocket launch from there.

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Rocket Lab drops first caught Electron booster, but it’s not a failure

Earlier today, Rocket Lab launched its ‘There and Back Again’ mission. This was the first Electron launch to feature an air-based recovery, using a helicopter to catch the first stage that was descending under parachute. While the catch seemed good, and Rocket Lab confirmed success, groans heard from mission control made it clear that all was not quite as expected.

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Rocket Lab successfully catches falling rocket with helicopter during ‘There and Back Again’ mission [Update: Not quite]

Reusability is a growing trend in spaceflight – from reusable capsules, space planes, and rocket boosters. Rocket Lab is going all-in on reusability with its Neutron rocket, as is SpaceX with its Starship, but before then, Rocket Lab has adapted and improved its Electron rocket for recovery and reuse.

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Rocket Lab to launch first Electron rocket from Virginia NET December 2022

Rocket Lab announced a new agreement to launch fifteen satellites for HawkEye 360, a Virginia-based geospatial analytics company. The first of these mission, which will be a rideshare mission, is expected to launch no earlier than December 2022, and will be the company’s first launch from the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia.

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