Today, Rocket Lab of Huntington Beach, Calif., an independent developer and manufacturer of small launch vehicles, and RUAG Space, a leading product supplier for satellites and launchers, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) creating a new agreement in the small launcher market, in support of flying RUAG separation systems on the Electron Launch Vehicle.
Rocket Lab, the developer of the world’s first fully carbon composite orbital launch vehicle, Electron, powered by 3D printed, electric pump-fed engines selected RUAG Space as its preferred supplier to provide a 15” microsatellite separation system for future missions of its Electron Small Launch Vehicles (SLV). These adapters connect satellites and rockets during the launch, and ensure a smooth separation in orbit. The new partnership was announced at the 2018 SmallSat Conference in Logan, Utah with representatives from both companies coming together to celebrate the agreement.
“RUAG Space has an impressive record of mission success with their innovative separation systems. We look forward to working with them to streamline another aspect of launch for small satellites,” said Peter Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab.
“This agreement is important market news for RUAG Space as we continue to grow and position ourselves in the small launcher market,” said Peter Guggenbach, CEO of RUAG Space. “This market segment is on the rise, and with our flexible product range, we want to enable the most successful missions.”
“RUAG Space has more than 650 successful in-orbit separations, and has a product range that meets the needs of all launchers—big and small,” said Mike Morningstar, President of RUAG Space USA. “We are a company powered by innovation and inspired by relationships that we forge with valued partners like Rocket Lab, and we look forward to our future collaborations.”
As the leading supplier of products for the space industry in Europe and the United States, RUAG Space develops payload adapters and separation systems used on many institutional and commercial launch vehicles. With a 100 percent success rate to date, RUAG’s separation system will securely attach a Rocket Lab’s customer spacecraft to Electron during its journey to space and deliver it safely to orbit with precision.
RUAG Space has been expanding its business in the small payload adapter and separation systems market in recent years and this partnership seeks to extend that impact in the small launcher market.
Attached Image, Credit (Rocket Lab), and Caption: Company representatives from Rocket Lab and RUAG Space celebrated their new preferred partnership agreement at the 2018 SmallSat Conference in Logan, Utah. Rocket Lab selected RUAG Space as its preferred partner to supply the separation system for future missions of its Electron Small Launch Vehicles (SLV). Picture Left to Right are: Anna Berglund-Almén, RUAG Space Business Manager; Magnus Engström, RUAG Space Manager Mechanical Marketing and Sales; Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck; Rocket Lab Mission Management and Integration Director Daniel Gillies.
ABOUT ROCKET LAB
Rocket Lab develops and launches advanced rocket technology to provide rapid and repeatable access to orbit for small satellites. Our mission is to open access to space to improve life on Earth. Rocket Lab has developed the world’s first fully carbon composite orbital launch vehicle, Electron, which is powered by 3D printed, electric pump-fed engines. Electron is a two-stage vehicle capable of delivering payloads of 150 kg to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit. On January 21 2018, Rocket Lab reached orbit with the launch of the Electron vehicle and successfully deployed the company’s first commercial payloads. It marked a significant milestone in eliminating commercial barriers and ushering in a new era of unprecedented access to space. Founded in 2006 by Peter Beck, Rocket Lab is headquartered in Huntington Beach, California and is a privately funded company with investors including Khosla Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, DCVC (Data Collective), Lockheed Martin, Promus Ventures and K1W1. Visit www.rocketlabusa.com
ABOUT RUAG SPACE
RUAG Space is the leading supplier to the space industry in Europe, with a growing presence in the United States. With more than 1,400 staff across six countries, it develops and manufactures products for satellites and launch vehicles – playing a key role both in the institutional and commercial space market. RUAG Space is a division of the international technology Group RUAG. RUAG develops and markets internationally sought-after technology applications in the fields of aerospace and defense for use on land, in the air and in space. 56 percent of RUAG’s products and services are destined for the civil market and 44% for the military market. The Group is headquartered in Bern (Switzerland). It has production sites in Switzerland and in 15 other countries in Europe, the United States and Asia-Pacific. RUAG generates sales of approximately CHF 1.96 billion and has over 9,200 employees – 400 of whom are trainees. Visit www.ruag.com.
