Electron version
Electron Electron with Photon
Electron topped with Photon, a platform derived from the kick stage that manoeuvres like a stage but works as a complete spacecraft. It first flew on 31 August 2020 and in June 2022 sent NASA's CAPSTONE probe towards the Moon, the launcher's first lunar mission.
- August 31, 2020
- First launch
- No
- Reusable
History
From stage to spacecraft
Photon is more than a third stage: it is a satellite bus with its own propulsion, power and attitude control, able to keep working in orbit for months. It debuted on 31 August 2020 on "I Can't Believe It's Not Optical", flying as a demonstration article named First Light alongside the Sequoia radar satellite. A second unit, Pathstone, repeated the exercise in 2021 to build flight heritage ahead of harder missions.
To the Moon
On 28 June 2022 a Photon placed CAPSTONE, an 80 kg CubeSat, on a trajectory to the Moon to rehearse the near-rectilinear halo orbit planned for the Gateway station. It was Rocket Lab's first lunar launch, and it forced the lightest possible Electron: the first stage flew stripped of all recovery hardware, which eats 10 to 15 per cent of a mission's payload capacity.
Beyond
A modified version powered by the HyperCurie engine is meant for interplanetary work and can deliver up to 30 kg into lunar orbit. Planned missions include a private Venus atmospheric-entry probe built with MIT and a cryogenic fluid management demonstrator for NASA.