7 hours until Rocket Lab’s second launch of 2024!
An Electron + Curie rocket will be launching out of Launch Complex 1B, Māhia Peninsula. The payload is a JAXA technology demonstration spacecraft for future space debris-removal missions.
Launch scheduled for 2024-02-18 14:52 UTC, 2024-02-19 03:52 NZDT.
Launch thread with more info has been posted over at !spaceflight@sh.itjust.works:
🇳🇿 RocketLab “On Closer Inspection” Launch Thread!
Would any spaceflight/rocket enthusiasts be interested in setting up a Rocket Lab community?
Possibly? I note that rocketlab is an American company that happens to launch in NZ. Also, we don’t have open community registrations, only admins can do that.
However, I’m willing to consider adding the community if people think this is an appropriate place for it?
If I recall correctly, Rocket Lab was founded in New Zealand but moved their registration for funding/growth reasons. While they are technically a US company now, they still have major ties to New Zealand and operate launch pads and manufacturing facilities in both countries.
In the spirit of decentralization, I thought it would be wise to distribute the space communities amongst multiple servers, and that this server might be an appropriate fit for c/RocketLab. I wouldn’t want to intrude on your server though, if you feel that it would not be a good fit.
Interesting! It seems you’re right about it being founded in NZ, confirmed on Wikipedia.
I distinctly remember seeing an interview with someone representing RocketLab being interviewed for an NZ audience, and they were asked if they felt RocketLab was an NZ company at heart. The response was basically no RocketLab is not an NZ company at heart but lots of great NZers work for us. It gave me the impression that RocketLab wasn’t really connected to NZ other than the launches being here.
I’m not against adding a community, and with this new found knowledge I think it now makes more sense.
But before making decisions like this I like to check with people to make sure it feels OK to them, so I’ll do that and get back to you in the next day or so.
Sounds like a great idea!
Well it seems there are a range of opinions so it might be a few more days. We haven’t added any communities since the early days and so don’t have a good process to decide whether to add a new one!
Hopefully you’re not in a hurry!
No worries, take as much time as you need! The next Rocket Lab launch isn’t until March 9th/10th, and if you need more time or decide that the community would not be a good fit for the instance, we can continue using the general !spaceflight@sh.itjust.works community.
Just an update, we’re currently running a survey to get people’s views on this. If we add the community, are you volunteering to be the mod?
Yes, I would be happy to volunteer as a mod. I already have some moderation experience with the !spaceflight@sh.itjust.works and !spacex@sh.itjust.works communities. I do not, however, have any direct connections to New Zealand, and would feel slightly awkward as the sole moderator. Would it be possible to co-moderate the community with someone from this instance? Given their previous comments in this thread, I’m thinking that @absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz might be a good fit for the role…
Added! https://lemmy.nz/c/rocketlab
Easiest way to promote you to mod is on a post or reply you make in the community.
Same goes for you @absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz if you’re keen to also take on a moderator role.
Perhaps an into post for the community might be a good start, otherwise I believe I was promised a rocket launch tonight!