Rocket Lab successfully launched a South Korean Earth-observation satellite and NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) into orbit on the evening of April 23.

The Electron vehicle lifted off from New Zealand at 6:33 p.m. EDT, following SpaceX’s launch of Starlink satellites just minutes earlier.

ACS3, a solar-sailing technology, aims to advance propulsion strategies in space exploration by harnessing sunlight for propulsion.

The mission will test new composite booms to deploy a solar sail measuring about 30 feet per side, Space.com has reported.

NEONSAT-1, the primary payload, developed by the Satellite Technology Research Center at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, will monitor natural disasters along the Korean coastline.

The satellites were deployed into different orbits, with NEONSAT-1 positioned 323 miles above Earth and ACS3 at an altitude of 620 miles.

Rocket Lab continues efforts to make its Electron vehicle’s first stage reusable, although no recovery activities were conducted during this mission.

Written by B.C. Begley