ANCHORAGE, AK:  The team at Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC) congratulates Rocket Lab on their successful launch of the new Electron rocket from the Rocket Lab Launch Complex One on the Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.  “This successful Electron launch is a game-changer for the commercial small satellite industry,” said Craig Campbell, AAC President and Chief Executive Officer.  “There is tremendous demand for a low-cost launch vehicle that provides schedule reliability for the commercial satellite market.  The Electron rocket has demonstrated the viability of affordable launch and opened a new market for the small satellite industry worldwide,” he continued.

AAC operates the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA) located on Kodiak Island.  AAC provided operational support to Rocket Lab, deploying their Range Safety and Telemetry System (RSTS) and personnel to New Zealand for the launch.  “The experience of operating from a foreign launch complex provided a number of challenges for our team,” claimed Todd Leitheiser, AAC Instrumentation Systems Manager.  “However, it also provided us with the ability to expand our capabilities which will prove beneficial in supporting future commercial launches from PSCA,” he concluded.

“The emerging small and ultra-small launch market creates opportunities for AAC to expand aerospace services and ultimately increase the number of commercial operations from PSCA,” stated John Cramer, PSCA Facilities Management and Operations Director.  “We are all very excited about Rocket Lab’s success of the Electron launch and pleased that AAC was able to play a part in this historic event,” Cramer said.

Alaska Aerospace Corporation is a state-owned corporation established to develop a high-technology aerospace industry in Alaska.  AAC owns and operates the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA) located on Kodiak Island offering all indoor, all weather, processing and providing optimal support for both orbital and sub-orbital space launches to low earth orbit, sun synchronous orbit, polar orbit, and highly elliptical orbits such as Molniya and Tundra orbits. Its corporate headquarters is in Anchorage, Alaska with a regional office in Huntsville, Alabama.