[[Home|🏠]] <span style="color: LightSlateGray">></span> <span class="no-hover">[[Launches]]</span> <span style="color: LightSlateGray">></span> 012 - Don't Stop Me Now
>[!success] Mission Success
>[!summary]
'Don't Stop Me Now' was a rideshare mission that launched several small satellites, including the ANDESITE (Ad-Hoc Network Demonstration for Extended Satellite-Based Inquiry and Other Team Endeavors) satellite created by electrical and mechanical engineering students and professors at [[Boston University]]. The satellite launched as part of [[NASA]]’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) and will conduct groundbreaking scientific study into Earth’s magnetic field. Once in space, the ANDESITE satellite will initiate measurements of the magnetosphere with onboard sensors, later releasing eight pico satellites carrying small magnetometer sensors to track electric currents flowing in and out of the atmosphere, a phenomenon also known as space weather. These variations in the electrical activity racing through space can have a big impact on our lives here on Earth, causing interruptions to things like radio communications and electrical systems. The ANDESITE satellite follows on from Rocket Lab’s first ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) launch for NASA, the [[004 - NASA ELaNa-19]] mission, which launched a host of educational satellites to orbit on Electron in December 2018.
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The mission also carried three payloads designed, built and operated by the [[National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)]]. The mission was procured under the agency’s Rapid Acquisition of a Small Rocket (RASR) contract vehicle. RASR allows the NRO to explore new launch opportunities that provide a streamlined, commercial approach for getting small satellites into space, as well as provide those working in the small satellite community with timely and cost-effective access to space. This mission followed Rocket Lab’s first dedicated mission for the NRO, Birds of a Feather, which was launched on 31 January 2020 NZT from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1.
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The ANDESITE and NRO payloads were joined on the mission by the M2 Pathfinder satellite, a collaboration between the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra Space and the Australian Government. The M2 Pathfinder will test communications architecture and other technologies that will assist in informing the future space capabilities of Australia. The satellite will demonstrate the ability of an onboard software-based radio to operate and reconfigure while in orbit.
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The mission has been named ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ in recognition of Rocket Lab board member and avid Queen fan [[Scott Smith]], who recently passed away.
#electron #launch #success
| **Mission Name** | Don't Stop Me Now |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Launch Date** | 2020-06-13 05:12 |
| **Outcome** | ✅ Success |
| **Customer** | [[Boston University]], [[NASA]], [[National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)]], [[UNSW Canberra Space]] |
| **Location** | [[Launch Complex 1#Launch Pad A]] |
| **Vehicle** | [[Electron]] |
| **Orbit Type** | [[🌍 Orbits#LEO]] |
| **Target Orbit** | 570 x 590 km | 97.75° |
| **Payload Mass** | Classified |
| **Recovery** | No Attempt |
| **Mission Link** | [Don't Stop Me Now](https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/missions-launched/dont-stop-me-now/) |
| **Press Kit** | [Press Kit PDF](https://rocketlabcorp.com/assets/Uploads/F12-DontStopMeNow-Presskit.pdf) |
![[Pasted image 20250406132325.png|300]]
## 📽️ Launch Video
<div class="responsive-video">
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VRfm6RGVHf8" title="Rocket Lab's Electron - Don't Stop Me Now Mission" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div>
## 📰 News
%%DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start
```
table published as "Published"
from "News"
where contains(mission, [[012 - Don't Stop Me Now]])
sort published desc
```
%%
| File | Published |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------- |
| [[News/Rocket Lab’s Next Mission to Launch Satellites for NASA, NRO and the University of New South Wales.md\|Rocket Lab’s Next Mission to Launch Satellites for NASA, NRO and the University of New South Wales]] | March 09, 2020 |
%%DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %%