Rocket Lab: Electron rocket launch ends in disaster

It ended in disaster, the 13 launch mission of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket. According to the company, the problem occurred four minutes after take-off, when the second set of thrusters already worked.

Rocket Lab has yet to conclude what went wrong, for sure, but in the live broadcast, it was possible to see that the control room lost its connection to the device at a time when it was also losing altitude. The team responsible for the mission is now working with the FAA (federal administration for the North American aircraft) to investigate the event.

The incident resulted in the loss of the rocket, but also seven satellites that were on board.

Peter Beck, founder of Rocket Lab, apologized for what happened on Twitter, especially to customers who ended up losing their cargo in the accident. Beck stressed that the company is committed to learning from mistakes and recalled that the space industry is not merciful. Note that the company must not fly again until the cause of the problem has been determined and resolved.

One of the customers who was affected by the accident was Canon. The company is setting up a system for capturing Earth images, so placing this satellite in orbit was essential to the brand's plans.

The accident occurs after 11 successful launches. This will not be the end of the company, but it negatively impacts its reputation, which should keep potential customers away from this space transport option.