Rocket Lab Photon
Photon is a satellite bus based on Rocket Lab's kick stage.
| 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 |
It was designed to be highly customizable to serve a variety of uses including LEO payload hosting, lunar flybys, and interplanetary missions.
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.
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. Another Photon will serve as the transfer stage to the joint Rocket Lab-MIT Venus Life Finder atmospheric probe.