- Rocket Lab USA, Inc RKLB postponed its mission to Venus, which the company planned to launch in May.
- The mission will likely move ahead no earlier than January 2025, the only publicly stated backup window for launch, TechCrunch cites a company spokesperson.
- “Our focus right now is on delivering customer missions as a priority,” the spokesperson said.
- Also Read: NASA Turned Him Down So He Built His Own Billion Dollar Rocket Company
- Rocket Lab disclosed plans to go to Venus last August, marking its first fully private mission to the yellow planet.
- The company will fund the task, while a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other organizations will contribute to the scientific payload.
- Rocket Lab plans to use its small Electron rocket and Photon spacecraft to send a very tiny probe to around 30 feet above the surface of Venus.
- The probe, measuring just 40 centimeters in diameter, will search for organic chemicals in Venus’s clouds or signs of life and suggest habitable conditions for supporting life.
- After spending only five minutes flying through the clouds, the probe will slowly lose altitude until it hits the surface of Venus around an hour after atmospheric entry.
- One of the other primary goals of the mission is to mature the high-energy Photon spacecraft further.
- The upcoming mission to Mars and Venus in 2025 is likely only the tip of the iceberg for Rocket Lab’s ambitions.
- Price Action: RKLB shares are trading higher by 1.05% at $4.79 in premarket on the last check Friday.
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