Electron
OperationalRocket Lab · United States · First flight 2017
The leading dedicated small-satellite launcher, with 97 launches as of September 26, 2026, counting its suborbital HASTE variant. Uses electric-pump-fed Rutherford engines and a carbon composite structure. Rocket Lab achieved a record 21 Electron launches in 2025 with 100% mission success and calls Electron the world's most frequently launched small-lift orbital rocket.
Launch price
~$9.2M
No list price: Rocket Lab's average revenue per launch, first half of 2026 (Form 10-Q), including suborbital HASTE missions.
Payload to LEO
300 kg
Career record
95.9%
93/97 successful · as of 2026-10-09
Next launch
Oct 21, 2026
We're Not Hawking Around (3x HawkEye 360)
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Subscribe in your calendar (every Electron launch): Apple or OutlookGoogleDownload .icsCalendar entries move when launch times move. A launch known only to the month appears once it has a day.
More launch calendarsLaunch activity, live
From SpaceNexus's launch tracker (tracked since Nov 24, 2024); outcomes recorded as each flight lands. Career totals above are the vehicle's full history.
Last 90 days
6
launches flown
Tracked flights
43
43 success · 0 partial · 0 failed
Tracked success rate
100%
full successes / attempts; partial failures are not successes
On the manifest
8
upcoming launches
Upcoming
Specifications
| Height | 18 m |
| Diameter | 1.2 m |
| Liftoff mass | 13,000 kg |
| Stages | 2 |
| Engines | 9x Rutherford + 1x Rutherford Vacuum |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX |
| Fairing diameter | 1.2 m |
| Payload to LEO | 300 kg |
| Payload to SSO | 200 kg |
| Reusable | No |
| First flight | 2017-05-25 |
| Last flight | Active |
| Variants seen on the manifest | Electron |
Where it launches from
Frequently asked
How much does a Electron launch cost?
About $9.2 million per launch. No list price: Rocket Lab's average revenue per launch, first half of 2026 (Form 10-Q), including suborbital HASTE missions. Actual contract prices vary with orbit, integration and government requirements.
When is the next Electron launch?
The next tracked Electron launch is We're Not Hawking Around (3x HawkEye 360), Oct 21, 2026 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. Dates move; Mission Control carries the live countdown.
How reliable is Electron?
Electron has flown 97 times as of 2026-10-09, with 93 successes, 4 failures and 0 partial failures: a 95.9% success rate, with 56 consecutive successes at last count.
How much can Electron carry?
300 kg to low Earth orbit, 200 kg to sun-synchronous orbit.
Public commitments
On the Promise Ledger: 1 entry: 1 met. Exact words, primary sources, deadlines and outcomes.
What the statuses mean
- Met:
- happened on or before the deadline.
The whole Promise Ledger · same rules for everyone, how entries are scored