The Aspera spacecraft will study the evolution of galaxies and provide new insights into how the universe works.
Weighing 60 kilograms, the satellite will blast off on the launch company’s signature Electron rocket “no earlier” than the first quarter of next year and follows a string of successful collaborations with the space agency.
In particular, the new satellite’s telescope will examine hot gas in the space between galaxies, called the intergalactic medium, which is thought to contribute to the birth of stars and planets.
“Gas is the fuel needed to make stars,” Carlos Vargas, the mission’s principal investigator, said last month. “We have a good understanding of how much gas there must be in galaxies to explain how many stars we see, but we’ve searched far and wide and still cannot find most of it.”
It will significantly be the first NASA astrophysics mission to gather and map incredibly faint ultraviolet light signatures, potentially unlocking a deeper understanding of the origins of stars, planets, and life in the universe.
“Why do we care about that? Because every star that has formed, every planet that’s formed, and all life on those planets must come from matter somewhere,” Vargas added.
Aspera is part of NASA’s Pioneers Program in the astrophysics division, which funds astrophysics science research at a lower cost.
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The Aspera mission was awarded to Rocket Lab through NASA’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) program, a five-year contracting vehicle for placing NASA’s science and technology payloads on commercial launchers.
Aspera joins the list of NASA science missions awarded to Rocket Lab, including the CAPSTONE mission launched to the moon, NASA’s hurricane monitoring TROPICS mission and the agency’s PREFIRE climate change-focused mission studying melting ice caps in the Antarctic.
Designed in California, Electron is 18 metres high, made of carbon composite and powered by 3D-printed engines. It has already deployed more than 200 satellites for a diverse range of customers, including NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the US Space Force.
The news comes as Australian company Gilmour attempts the first launch of its own SmallSat carrying rocket, Eris.
The company was forced to postpone the first attempt on Thursday morning and will try again on Friday.
Gilmour announced last week it would open its launch window on 15 May, following multiple delays blamed on Tropical Cyclone Alfred that shut down large parts of Queensland.
Eris is a three-stage orbital vehicle and the first to be almost entirely Australian-designed and manufactured. The launch would mark one of the most significant moments in the local sector’s history, and the first attempt at an orbital blast-off in 50 years from Australian soil.
Gilmour has repeatedly said that the initial blast-off of Eris is likely to end in failure and on Sunday admitted a flight time of 20 or 30 seconds would be “fantastic”.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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