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Rocket file · LV-26

Electron

Rocket Lab · IN SERVICE

Electron is an expendable launch vehicle built by Rocket Lab. It stands 18.0 m tall, lifts 300 kg to low Earth orbit, first flew on 25 May 2017. It has flown 99 times with 95 successes, a success rate of 96.0%. Its next flight is Electron | The Mountain God Rises (iQPS Launch 10) for Rocket Lab, no earlier than November 14, 2026 at 05:30 UTC.

Specification

Vehicle spec sheet

ON FILE
Height18.0 m
Diameter1.2 m
Payload to LEO300 kg
Payload to GTONOT ON FILE
Maiden flight25 May 2017
ReusableNo, expendable
Launch cost$6M
StatusIN SERVICE

As listed by Launch Library 2. The cost is Launch Library’s figure, not a quoted price. Figures for rockets outside the sixty most-flown were last read on 2026-11-05.

Flight record

Reliability

ON RECORD
Total flights99
Successful95
Failed4
Success rate96.0%
Landing attempts9
Landing success77.8% (7)
Scheduled56

About Electron

Electron is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle (with an optional third stage) developed by the American aerospace company Rocket Lab. Electron is a small-lift launch vehicle designed to launch small satellites and cubesats to sun-synchronous orbit and low earth orbit. The Electron is the first orbital class rocket to use electric-pump-fed engines, powered by the 9 Rutherford engines on the first stage. It is also used as a suborbital testbed (called HASTE) for hypersonics research.

Upcoming flights

The next 12 of 56 scheduled. Full schedule

Electron in the archive

From NASA's public image library and Wikimedia Commons. Each photo shows the credit its licence asks for and links back to where it came from.

Locations of Energetic Electron Events
Locations of Energetic Electron EventsNASA / JPL · public domainNASA ↗
Digital Electronic Engine Control F-15A #287 in flight.
Digital Electronic Engine Control F-15A #287 in flight.NASA / AFRC · public domainNASA ↗
Electron and Magnetic Field Observations MAG/ER
Electron and Magnetic Field Observations MAG/ERNASA / JPL · public domainNASA ↗

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Common questions

How many times has Electron flown?
99 times, with 95 successes and 4 failures. Another 56 flights are scheduled.
What is Electron's success rate?
96.0%. That's 95 successful flights out of 99 attempts. Its landings have succeeded 77.8% of the time, across 9 attempts.
When is the next Electron launch?
Electron | The Mountain God Rises (iQPS Launch 10), flown by Rocket Lab. It's set for no earlier than November 14, 2026 at 05:30 UTC from Unknown Pad.
How much can Electron lift to orbit?
Launch Library 2 lists Electron at 300 kg to low Earth orbit.
Is Electron reusable?
No. Launch Library 2 lists Electron as expendable, so no stage is recovered to fly again.