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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