Rocket LabElectronRocket Lab Launch Complex 1B, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Ready, Aim, PREFIRE (PREFIRE 1)
Launched
May 25, 2024 · 07:41 UTC
Image: Rocket Lab
Summary
Ready, Aim, PREFIRE (PREFIRE 1) launched on a Rocket Lab Electron from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand on May 25, 2024 at 07:41 UTC. The launch window ran from 07:15 to 08:04 UTC. It was Rocket Lab's 48th launch, 6th this year and humanity's 6,689th orbital launch attempt. It was the 48th Electron flight and the 6th this year. The payload was bound for Polar Orbit (PO). PREFIRE 2, one of 3 catalogued objects, reached a 531 × 548 km orbit inclined 97.5°. 3 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Watch
- Vehicle
- Electron · Rocket Lab
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Earth Science · Polar Orbit (PO)for NASA
- Milestone
- 48th Electron flight · 6th this yearRocket Lab's 48th launch6th this yearhumanity's 6,689th orbital launch attempt100th orbital launch attempt this year
Webcast
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
PREFIRE 2 · NORAD 59881 · 2024-099 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 3 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 2024-099A
- Epoch
- 2024-05-25 10:30:20 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.11143294 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0012132
- Inclination
- 97.5039°
- Ascending node
- 4.2763°
- Arg. of perigee
- 330.8176°
- Mean anomaly
- 151.6909°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 1
- 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+2M41SStage 2 Separation
- T+2M44SSES
- T+4M17SFairing Separation
- T+6M9SBattery Hotswap
- T+9M15SSECO
- T+9M19SKick Stage Separation
- T+51M27SKick Stage Ignition
- T+52M16SKick Stage Cut-off
- T+53M6SPayload Separation
Catalogued objects
3 catalogued: 1 payload, 2 rocket stages; 1 still in orbit
- PREFIRE 2 · NORAD 59881 · in orbit
Electron 48 Stage 2 · re-entered June 10, 2024
Electron 48 Kick Stage · re-entered June 5, 2025
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
First 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
18th launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B, 5th this year · 44th from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Local pad time at liftoff: May 25, 7:41 PM GMT+12, at night
41 launches from this pad · 84 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
31 days after the previous launch from this pad
All launches from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New ZealandOpen in maps
Updates
Satellite in contact.
Show 9 earlier updates
Satellite deployed.
Cosmic_Penguin · 5/25/2024 · source
Liftoff
hitura-nobad · 5/25/2024 · source
Hold released
hitura-nobad · 5/25/2024 · source
Hold due to ground wind limit violation
hitura-nobad · 5/25/2024 · source
Official Webcast by Rocket Lab has started
LL2 · 5/25/2024 · source
New T-0 07:28 UTC
hitura-nobad · 5/25/2024 · source
Updated launch weather.
Cosmic_Penguin · 5/24/2024 · source
Delayed to May 25 due to weather.
Cosmic_Penguin · 5/21/2024 · source
Changed launch pad.
Cosmic_Penguin · 5/15/2024 · source
Questions
When did Ready, Aim, PREFIRE (PREFIRE 1) launch?
Ready, Aim, PREFIRE (PREFIRE 1) launched on May 25, 2024 at 07:41 UTC. The launch window ran from 07:15 to 08:04 UTC.
Where can I watch Ready, Aim, PREFIRE (PREFIRE 1)?
Coverage: Rocket Lab - 'Ready, Aim, PREFIRE' Launch. Watch the replay
What rocket launched Ready, Aim, PREFIRE (PREFIRE 1)?
Electron, flown by Rocket Lab. Electron spec sheet
Where did Ready, Aim, PREFIRE (PREFIRE 1) launch from?
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. Liftoff was May 25, 7:41 PM GMT+12 local time at the pad.
What orbit did Ready, Aim, PREFIRE (PREFIRE 1) reach?
PREFIRE 2, one of 3 catalogued objects, reached a 531 × 548 km orbit inclined 97.5°.
How many satellites did Ready, Aim, PREFIRE (PREFIRE 1) launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued, still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).