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DeepSpace: Rocket Lab nails third Electron launch of 2019 as next rocket heads to launch pad

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket lifts off from Mahia Peninsula on June 29th for the company's third launch of 2019. (Rocket Lab)

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Welcome to the latest edition of DeepSpace! Each week, I’ll hand-craft this newsletter to give you a breakdown of what’s happening in the space industry and tell you what you need to know. 

On June 29th, startup Rocket Lab completed its third successful Electron rocket launch this year, placing roughly half a dozen small(ish) satellites in orbit as part of a dedicated mission for Seattle-based startup Spaceflight Industries.

Technically speaking, with three launches under its belt, Rocket Lab has now reached orbit more times this year than the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V and Delta IV rockets combined, despite the fact that the company conducted its first commercial launch just seven months ago. In other words, Rocket Lab is finding its stride with Electron at an unprecedented speed and may be able to complete its tenth successful orbital launch less than two years after the company first reached orbit (January 2018). June 29th’s launch is just the latest in a string of impressive successes for Rocket Lab and the company doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon.



Electron Flight 7: “Make It Rain”

  • A tongue-in-cheek reference to the stereotype that it rains constantly in Seattle, home of launch contractor Spaceflight Industries, Electron Flight 7 was a commercial rideshare mission that included six publicly manifested satellites and at least one classified payload.
    • Altogether, the payload mass was reported by Rocket Lab to be roughly 80 kg (175 lb). Aside from marking the orbital debut of Australia’s Melbourne Space Program, Flight 7’s main passenger – manifested via SpaceX – was BlackSky’s ~56 kg (125 lb), dishwasher-sized Global 3 satellite, the third of its kind to reach orbit.
    • BlackSky’s ultimate goal is to build a full constellation of at least 60 Global satellites, each capable of delivering >1000 images with an impressive resolution of ~1m/pixel. The first four (including Global 3) were actually built by Spaceflight itself, but the 60-satellite constellation is to be produced at LeoStella’s recently-inaugurated Seattle factory and replaced every few years.
 

Attached above black, rectangular cubesat dispensers is BlackSky’s minifridge-sized Global 3 satellite (top), encapsulated inside Electron’s carbon fiber fairing soon after (left). Electron lifted off (right) on June 28th (June 29th local time) and was greeted by a spectacular sunset-lit view of its launch site, located on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. (Rocket Lab)

  • It can be all but guaranteed that BlackSky (or LeoStella) will return to Rocket Lab for future Global satellite launch contracts, perhaps flying 2-3 spacecraft at a time to expedite constellation completion and lower the overall cost of getting it into orbit.
  • Carrying a price tag of roughly $6M, Electron is capable of placing 150 kg (330 lb) into a 500 km (310 mi) sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). 3 Global satellites would likely push Electron to its limits, while 2 would leave plenty of space for additional copassenger spacecraft and thus opportunities to lower the overall cost to BlackSky.
  • Some 50 minutes after lifting off from New Zealand, Electron’s third stage – a “kick stage” powered by a custom-built Curie engine – ignited and burned for about 45 seconds, circularizing its orbit. A few minutes later, all 6-7+ spacecraft were successfully deployed, leaving the kick stage to once again lower its orbit to facilitate a quick and controlled reentry, minimizing space debris.

Onto the next one

  • Pictured at the bottom of the gallery above, Rocket Lab – much like SpaceX – completed a full static fire test of Flight 8’s Electron upper stage, the last major test milestone standing in the way of Electron’s next launch. Located in Auckland, NZ, the upper stage will now be shipped around 300 mi (500 km) south to Rocket Lab’s Mahia Peninsula-based Launch Complex 1 (LC-1).
  • According to Rocket Lab’s website, Electron Flight 8 is scheduled no earlier than (NET) August 2019, although the company’s Flight 7 webcast host indicated that it could happen as early as July.
    • Either way, it appears that Rocket Lab is well on its way to achieving a bimonthly average launch cadence this year.
    • The company’s goal is to reach a monthly launch cadence by the end of the year, roughly halving its current 2019 average of ~50 days between launches.
  • Ultimately, Rocket Lab’s future continues to look brighter month by month. As the only commercial smallsat launch operator currently serving customers, the company is essentially early to the party and has the market cornered by simply being first. Every launch will provide experience and get the company closer to profitability and even greater launch cadences, perhaps as high as 2-3x per month by the end of 2020.
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– Eric

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla Board takes firm stance on Elon Musk’s political involvement in pay package proxy

But there was one driving factor that was considered critical to Tesla: “Receive assurances that Musk’s involvement with the political sphere would wind down in a timely manner.”

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The Tesla Board of Directors announced yesterday that it had established a new pay package for CEO Elon Musk, as it believes it is “critical” to secure his long-term commitment to the position.

However, the Board made it clear about Musk’s political involvement in its proxy filing, which announced the new pay package, and it seems the company is addressing it directly.

Elon Musk’s new pay plan ties trillionaire status to Tesla’s $8.5 trillion valuation

The proxy announced the massive pay package, which could give Musk $1 trillion if he achieves various goals that would help Tesla grow as an automaker, energy provider, and in the Robotics and AI sectors.

There are also some details about the Board’s decision, which we went over yesterday, as it felt that Musk was the right person to continue to lead Tesla for the foreseeable future.

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It appears that there were four primary reasons behind the decision to retain Musk with this substantial pay package.

Tesla sought to secure Musk’s commitment to the company by offering him a path to increased ownership; if he were to achieve all tranches, he would hold approximately 27 percent ownership.

Another was to let Musk develop the newest Master Plan, which was released last week. Additionally, there needs to be a “meaningful framework for long-term succession planning led by the Board with Musk’s active participation.”

But there was one driving factor that was considered critical to Tesla: “Receive assurances that Musk’s involvement with the political sphere would wind down in a timely manner.”

It is far from a secret that Musk’s involvement with President Donald Trump during his election campaign and after he was voted in rubbed many people the wrong way.

Musk was part of President Trump’s White House, serving as the Head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and also acting as a Special Advisor.

The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

 President Donald J. Trump purchases a Tesla on the South Lawn, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

Musk’s political involvement impacted sales, but by how much is unknown.

It appears the Board is truly ready to move on from politics and focus on what matters: expanding AI, Robotics, and sustainable energy. For what it’s worth, Musk has backed away from politics significantly compared to how it was during election season.

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Tesla launches new Supercharger program that business owners will love

“We treat your site like we treat our sites. By providing you with a full-service package that includes network operations, preventative maintenance and driver support, we’re able to guarantee 97% uptime–the highest in the industry.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially launched a new Supercharger program in the United States, catering to business owners who are sure to love it.

Tesla’s Supercharger Network is the world’s most expansive electric vehicle charging network, with over 70,000 locations worldwide. EV owners can also access other networks, making the charging experience well-rounded and available at nearly every location imaginable.

The company is now taking things a step further by launching “Supercharger for Business,” a new way to enable fast-charging for Teslas and other EVs through stalls that are owned by you but managed by the company.

Tesla Superchargers get massive nod in new study showing reliability

“Purchase and install Superchargers at your business,” Tesla writes on a page on its website for the new program. “Superchargers are compatible with all electric vehicles, bringing EV drivers to your business by offering convenient, reliable charging.”

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There are several advantages to this program that benefit owners, customers, and employees alike. It is truly a great opportunity for everyone involved.

For company owners, the presence of Superchargers is extremely beneficial for customers, as it can be a convenient way to attract people to your business. It will also provide your employees who drive EVs with a fast and convenient way to charge at work, making your business a more attractive place to work.

The stalls are also customizable, and can have your company’s logo placed on the charger:

For customers, they will be able to pull up to your business for a meeting or a visit and charge during their stop. EV owners know how convenient this would be.

For employees, they can now fast-charge at work. It is a huge benefit to have this available. It can also be more convenient than typical chargers at offices, which usually have a lower power output and take hours to gain range. In a pinch, the Superchargers will be more convenient.

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Businesses also have the ability to control everything they want with the Superchargers, including pricing, while also benefiting from Tesla’s management and maintenance of the stalls:

“We treat your site like we treat our sites. By providing you with a full-service package that includes network operations, preventative maintenance and driver support, we’re able to guarantee 97% uptime–the highest in the industry.”

With EVs becoming more popular every year, this is something that many businesses will take advantage of to not only gain customers, but also potentially sway an employee to their company for employment.

Not to mention, this is a great advertising opportunity for businesses.

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Tesla board reveals reasoning for CEO Elon Musk’s new $1 trillion pay package

“Yes, you read that correctly: in 2018, Elon had to grow Tesla by billions; in 2025, he has to grow Tesla by trillions — to be exact, he must create nearly $7.5 trillion in value for shareholders for him to receive the full award.”

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla’s Board of Directors has proposed a new pay package for company CEO Elon Musk that would result in $1 trillion in stock offerings if he is able to meet several lofty performance targets.

Musk, who has not been meaningfully compensated since 2017, completed his last pay package by delivering billions in shareholder value through a variety of performance-based “tranches,” which were met and resulted in the award of billions in stock.

Elon Musk’s new pay plan ties trillionaire status to Tesla’s $8.5 trillion valuation

However, Musk was unable to claim this award due to a ruling by the Delaware Chancery Court, which deemed the payout an “unfathomable sum.”

Now, the company is taking steps to ensure Musk gets paid, as the Board feels that it is crucial to retain its CEO, who has been responsible for much of the company’s success.

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This is not a statement to undermine the work of all of Tesla’s terrific employees, but a ship needs to be captained by someone, and Musk has proven he is the right person for the job.

The Board also believes that, based on a statement made by the company in its proxy, various issues will be discussed during the upcoming Shareholder Meeting.

Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson recognized Musk’s contributions in a statement, which encouraged shareholders to vote to approve the payout:

“We’re asking you to approve the 2025 CEO Performance Award. In designing the new performance award, we explored numerous alternatives. Ultimately, the new award aims to build upon the success of the 2018 CEO Performance Award framework, which ensure that Elon was only paid for the performance delivered and incentivized to guide Tesla through a period of meteoric growth. The 2025 CEO Performance Award similarly challegnes Elon to again meet a series of even more aspirational goals, including operational milestones focused on reaching Adjusted EBITDA targets (thresholds that are up to 28 times higher than the 2108 CEO Performance Award’s top Adjusted EBITDA milestone) and rolling out new or expanded product offerings (including 1 million Robotaxis in commercial operation and delivery of 1 million AI Bots), all while growing the company’s market capitalization by trillions of dollars.

Yes, you read that correctly: in 2018, Elon had to grow Tesla by billions; in 2025, he has to grow Tesla by trillions — to be exact, he must create nearly $7.5 trillion in value for shareholders for him to receive the full award.

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In addition to these unprecedented performance milestones, the 2025 CEO Performance Award also includes innovative structural features, born out of the special committee’s considered analysis and extensive shareholder feedback. These features include supercharged retention (at least seven and a half years and up to 10 years to vest in the full award), structural protections to minimize stock price volatility due to administration of this award and, thereafter, incentives for Elon to participate in the Board’s continued development of a framework for long-term CEO Succession. If Elon achieves all the performance milestones under this principle-based 2025 CEO Performance Award, his leadership will propel Tesla to become the most valuable company in history.”

Musk will have a lot of things to accomplish to receive the 423,743,904 shares, which are divided into 12 tranches.

However, the Board feels he is the right person for the job, and they want him to remain the CEO. This package should ensure that he stays with Tesla, as long as shareholders feel the same way.

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