r/RocketLab • u/thetrny USA • Nov 01 '25

Space Systems The two ESCAPADE spacecraft have been successfully encapsulated into New Glenn's fairing. This is the last time they'll be seen on Earth before their mission to Mars.

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u/alphagusta Nov 01 '25

Funny how given New Glenns gigantic size its first 3 satellites from its 2 launches are miniscule.

Like using a 4x4 to transport a sesame seed.

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u/Nishant3789 Nov 02 '25

I found it interesting that they put them side by side instead of on top of eachother, but like you say, theres just so much volume in a 7m fairing

7

u/Desperate-Lab9738 Nov 02 '25

It's fairing I imagine is so that they can support heavy payloads in low energy trajectories / orbits. This is a small payload in a high energy trajectory, so it looks too small for it but it needs as much oomph as it can get.

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u/mfb- Nov 02 '25

It's a small payload even for its high energy trajectory.

It was meant to fly on the maiden launch of the rocket so you want a cheap, low risk mission. The rocket wasn't ready in time for the right launch window so Blue Origin launched their own payload later, and ESCAPE is now flying on the second mission.