| General > General Technical Chat |
| K1W1's in space again |
| (1/1) |
| tautech:
This time carrying a NASA payload. |
| tom66:
Really interesting architecture, using electric turbopumps instead of engine-driven ones. The pumps are powered by a battery capable of a peak discharge of 1MW, and so their weight is non-negligible and for the second stage they are disposed of once fully discharged. They use lithium-ion which is probably a cost/availability consideration. A primary (non rechargeable cell) would likely exceed the energy density of the lithium ion pack, but would cost more and require more engineering effort. I guess if they intend to recover the packs eventually, then Li-Ion could be important. |
| tautech:
Website and lots of pics over many pages: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/ Would those batteries be Maxwell Tom ? Pic of them here ~1/2 way down the page: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/about/about-us/ |
| tautech:
Short 25s vid of the takeoff: |
| tautech:
Another skyward with NASA and other cargo: |
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