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They started out as hitchhikers.

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For years, tiny CubeSat satellites have only
been able to fly into space by riding along

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with larger, primary payloads.

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Now, they’re about to get their own rides
into space… on their own terms… and that’s

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a big plus for science.

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To explain, let’s rewind a little bit.

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In 2015, NASA introduced Venture Class Launch
Services – and the companies the agency

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selected to make the dream of small-satellite-friendly
launch vehicles a reality: Rocket Lab USA

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of Huntington Beach and Virgin Orbit, formerly
Virgin Galactic of Long Beach, California.

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CubeSats might be small satellites, but don’t
be fooled by their size.

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They offer a big benefit: a low-cost way for
educational institutions, non-profits and

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others to design spacecraft, fly a mission
and collect real data.

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But flying to space along with other payloads
was like flying “coach class to space”

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– and it placed limitations on where CubeSats
could go in orbit.

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GARRETT SKROBOT: By flying piggyback, it meant
we had to go where the primary went; we were

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not able to select our orbit; we had to build
our science around particular orbits or sacrifice

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some of the science.

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That’s what the Venture Class Launch Services
was developed to fix.

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In short, it’s a small-satellite game-changer.

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Fast forward three years.

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In this business, that’s the blink of an
eye – especially if you’re going from

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a rocket on paper to a rocket that’s ready
to fly. – with CubeSats as the primary payload.

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Now?

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CubeSats are the primary payload.

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In other words, they’re going to be flying
first class.

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Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit – are on the
leading edge of this new era in small satellite capability.

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Rocket Lab’s two-stage Electron rocket stands
nearly 56 feet tall.

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Its Rutherford engine is the first oxygen/kerosene
engine to have all its primary components

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created by 3-D printing – in just 24 hours.

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Prelaunch processing takes place at the company’s
location in Huntington Beach, California.

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Then it’s all shipped to New Zealand.

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Launch Complex-1 is located an 8-hour drive
from Aukland at remote Mahia Peninsula.

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Peter Beck: It’s a testament to NASA’s
vision for the future and to invest in something

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this early, and it’s truly fantastic.

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What Rocket Lab is about is enabling really
small satellites to do really important things

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that affect us all.

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Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne is a two-stage
rocket, about 70 feet in length and weighing

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in around 57,000 pounds at takeoff.

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Rocket and payload are processed at the company’s
facility in Long Beach, California.

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Finally, LauncherOne is air-launched from
Cosmic Girl, the company’s 747 carrier aircraft…

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providing the flexibility to launch from locations
around the world.

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Steve Isakowitz: Really appreciate the effort
that’s gone into this new innovative program

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that’s not only going to unleash the revolution
that’s going to be created by small sats,

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but also is going to change the way, how we
conduct business, and how we work with NASA.

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So how do the CubeSat missions get matched
to the right rocket for the job?

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That’s where NASA’s Launch Services Program
comes in.

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Based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center,
LSP makes the hard business of rocket science

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a little easier.

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LSP is Earth’s bridge to space… and that
includes finding innovative ways to lower

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the cost of a ride to orbit for all spacecraft…
large and small.

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Venture Class Launch Services is a natural
fit for this talented team.

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Mark Wiese: So the Venture Class Launch Service
was born out of a strategic initiative led

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by the Launch Services Program, rooted in
that drive to seek a new way to get to space.

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In only three years, the Venture Class Launch
Services capability went from this …

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And it all started with a pioneering idea
for a low-cost… first-class…