Rocket Lab says it will launch two Electron rockets just weeks apart later this year after scrubbing the first commercial flight of the rocket from Mahia Peninsula in June.
The launch mission, dubbed It's Business Time, was called off due to an issue with a tracking dish on the Chatham Islands.
Plans for a launch earlier in the year had already been postponed after unusual behaviour was detected in a motor controller.
The company says the motor controllers have since been modified and undergone new testing ahead of the next launch.
US company Rocket Lab’s It’s Business Time mission will launch in November, with the ELaNa XIX mission for NASA to follow soon after in December.
Rocket Lab develops and launches rockets to carry small satellites into orbit.
Electron is the world’s first fully carbon composite orbital launch vehicle, powered by 3D printed, electric pump-fed engines.
It's a two-stage vehicle capable of delivering payloads of 150 kilograms to a 500-kilometre orbit.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO, New Zealander Peter Beck, says the team has this year focused on scaling up production to churn out Electron rockets at a rate of one a month.
"Now that we’re hitting that production rate, we’re working to get them launched at the same frequency by the end of this year, and increasing cadence into 2019,” he said.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time for the small satellite industry. Everyone on the planet will benefit from easier access to orbit in terms of innovation, research and exploration, and we’re excited to be the team enabling that," Mr Beck said.
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