Rocket Lab developed a new bipropellant propulsion system for the Curie kick stage that serves as the basis for the Photon bus.
Rocket Lab is developing a satellite bus called Photon that is based on the Electron rocket’s kick stage.
Rocket Lab will use Photon, the satellite bus it is developing based on the Electron rocket’s kick stage, to place CAPSTONE on a trajectory to the moon.
Rocket Lab will use Sinclair systems on its Photon line of smallsat buses and will provide resources for Sinclair to scale up production of those components for sale to other customers.
Photon is based on the Electron kick stage and is offered as a proven satellite bus so customers can focus on payload development rather than on building a satellite bus.
Rocket Lab uses the Electron rocket’s kick stage as a transfer vehicle and has modified it into the Photon satellite bus.
Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite bus will deliver CAPSTONE into a trajectory toward the Moon.
Rocket Lab won a contract from the University of California Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory in June to develop a new EscaPADE design based on Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite bus.
Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite bus provides high thrust and impulse capability intended to support debris removal missions.
The New Zealand study could include use of Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite bus to support debris removal missions.
CAPSTONE will launch on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket using a version of Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite bus to send the stage on a lunar trajectory.
Varda Space Industries plans to use Rocket Lab’s Photon satellites as the platform for its space factories.
Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite bus will deliver CAPSTONE into a trajectory toward the Moon.
Photon will deploy NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) cubesat.
Varda has purchased three additional Rocket Lab Photon buses to build more satellites beyond the bus used for the June mission.
Varda is developing a second spacecraft to be manufactured by Rocket Lab using the Photon bus.
Each photon carries information transmitted to a satellite in GEO orbit.
As of September 1, 2022, Rocket Lab's Photon bus was described as performing a deorbit burn and aiming toward a designated Earth location such that releasing the reentry pod results in targeted recovery.
As of September 1, 2022, Rocket Lab's Photon reentry capsule was described as having no on-capsule maneuvering capability.
Rocket Lab unveiled Photon, its smallsat bus, on Rocket Lab's official website.