 Photon in an Electron fairing | |
| Manufacturer | Rocket Lab |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Applications | Launch service provider |
| Specifications | |
| Spacecraft type | Satellite bus |
| Launch mass | 50 kg (110 lb) |
| Payload capacity | 170 kg (370 lb) |
| Equipment | S band payloads |
| Production | |
| Status | Active |
| Launched | 4 |
| Maiden launch | 31 August 2020 |
| Related spacecraft | |
| Derived from | Kick Stage |
Photon is a satellite bus based on Rocket Lab's kick stage.[1]
It was designed to be highly customizable to serve a variety of uses including LEO payload hosting,[2] lunar flybys, and interplanetary missions.[3]
Photon uses chemical propulsion for orbit adjustments, utilizing a range of engines such as Rocket Lab's own Curie or HyperCurie, or other third party engines.[4]
Photon first launched in August 2020 on Rocket Lab's I Can't Believe It's Not Optical mission, where it served as a pathfinder, and has since flown three more times. It also flew the CAPSTONE mission.
In an upcoming mission, two Photon satellite buses will be used to observe the Martian magnetosphere.[5] Another Photon will serve as the transfer stage to the joint Rocket Lab-MIT Venus Life Finder atmospheric probe.[6]
- ^ Foust, Jeff (8 April 2019). "Rocket Lab unveils Photon smallsat bus". SpaceNews. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- ^ "Varda Space Industries". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ "Photon". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- ^ 73 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) (18 September 20022), ESCAPADE: A Low-Cost Formation at Mars, Retrieved 21 October 2023
- ^ "Misson To Mars - Escapade". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ "Rocket Lab Probe". Venus Cloud Life - MIT. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
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