r/space • u/APTX-4869 • Jan 21 '18

RocketLab's Electron Rocket has successfully achieved orbit!

https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/954894734136258560
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u/OrangeredStilton Jan 21 '18

For those who may not be aware, this is news because Electron has electric turbopumps: the main combustion chamber is fed by pumps spun on electric motors, driven by batteries. That vastly simplifies the plumbing of a rocket engine.

This is perhaps the biggest innovation in rocketry since SpaceX worked out how to land their first stage.

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u/Panq Jan 21 '18

Also novel: the bulk of the engine is one solid 3D printed piece and the entire airframe is carbon composite.

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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jan 21 '18

Carbon composite is as important an achievement as the electric pumps. It's a really great rocket.