Running Out Of Fingers

Onboard this rideshare mission were six spacecraft comprised of 5cm PocketQube microsatellites from satellite manufacturer and mission management provider Alba Orbital. The final payload on board was procured by satellite rideshare and mission management provider Spaceflight for ALE Co., Ltd (ALE), a Tokyo-based company creating microsatellites that simulate meteor particles. 

‘Running Out Of Fingers’ also included the first guided, full telemetry re-entry of the Electron launch vehicle’s first stage as part of Rocket Lab’s plans to re-use and re-fly rocket boosters in future missions. Recovery instrumentation on-board this flight included guidance and navigation hardware, including S-band telemetry and on-board flight computer systems, to live-gather data during the first stage’s atmospheric re-entry, as well as a reaction control system to orient the booster.