Rocket LabElectronRocket Lab Launch Complex 1B, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
PREFIRE And Ice (PREFIRE 2)
Launched
June 5, 2024 · 03:15 UTC
Image: Rocket Lab
Summary
PREFIRE And Ice (PREFIRE 2) launched on a Rocket Lab Electron from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand on June 5, 2024 at 03:15 UTC. It was Rocket Lab's 49th launch, 7th this year and humanity's 6,700th orbital launch attempt. It was the 49th Electron flight and the 7th this year. The payload was bound for Polar Orbit (PO). PREFIRE 1, one of 3 catalogued objects, reached a 201 × 533 km orbit inclined 97.5°. 3 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Watch
- Rocket Lab - 'PREFIRE & Ice' LaunchRocket Lab
- Vehicle
- Electron · Rocket Lab
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Earth Science · Polar Orbit (PO)for NASA
- Milestone
- 49th Electron flight · 7th this yearRocket Lab's 49th launch7th this yearhumanity's 6,700th orbital launch attempt111th orbital launch attempt this year
Webcast
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
PREFIRE 1 · NORAD 59965 · 2024-108 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 3 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 2024-108A
- Epoch
- 2024-06-05 04:15:13 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.69653963 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0246471
- Inclination
- 97.5028°
- Ascending node
- 308.2968°
- Arg. of perigee
- 221.6629°
- Mean anomaly
- 210.3304°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: PO.
Flight timeline
- T−2MStartup
- T−2SIgnition
- T−0Liftoff
- T+54SSupersonic
- T+1M6SMax-Q
- T+2M37SMECO
- T+2M40SStage 2 Separation
- T+2M43SSES
- T+4M16SFairing Separation
- T+6M9SBattery Hotswap
- T+9M15SSECO
- T+9M19SKick Stage Separation
- T+51M25SKick Stage Ignition
- T+52M14SKick Stage Cut-off
- T+53M4SPayload Separation
Catalogued objects
3 catalogued: 1 payload, 2 rocket stages; 1 still in orbit
- PREFIRE 1 · NORAD 59965 · in orbit
Electron 49 Stage 2 · re-entered June 18, 2024
Electron 49 Kick Stage · re-entered April 8, 2025
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
Second 6U Cubesat carrying a miniaturized IR spectrometer, covering 0- 45 μm at 0.84 μm spectral resolution, operating for one seasonal cycle for NASAs PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission.
Pad
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
19th launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B, 6th this year · 45th from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Local pad time at liftoff: Jun 5, 3:15 PM GMT+12, in daylight
41 launches from this pad · 84 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
10 days after the previous launch from this pad
All launches from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New ZealandOpen in maps
Updates
Successful launch
Show 9 earlier updates
Spacecraft separation confirmed.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/5/2024 · source
Liftoff.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/5/2024 · source
Official Webcast by Rocket Lab has started
LL2 · 6/5/2024 · source
Updated launch weather.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/4/2024 · source
Updated T-0.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/4/2024 · source
NET June 5.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/1/2024 · source
Scrubbed for the day.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/1/2024 · source
Hold at T-2:07.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/1/2024 · source
Tweaked launch time.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/1/2024 · source
Questions
When did PREFIRE And Ice (PREFIRE 2) launch?
PREFIRE And Ice (PREFIRE 2) launched on June 5, 2024 at 03:15 UTC.
Where can I watch PREFIRE And Ice (PREFIRE 2)?
Coverage: Rocket Lab - 'PREFIRE & Ice' Launch. Watch the replay
What rocket launched PREFIRE And Ice (PREFIRE 2)?
Electron, flown by Rocket Lab. Electron spec sheet
Where did PREFIRE And Ice (PREFIRE 2) launch from?
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. Liftoff was Jun 5, 3:15 PM GMT+12 local time at the pad.
What orbit did PREFIRE And Ice (PREFIRE 2) reach?
PREFIRE 1, one of 3 catalogued objects, reached a 201 × 533 km orbit inclined 97.5°.
How many satellites did PREFIRE And Ice (PREFIRE 2) launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued, still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).