ELaNa 19 Launch

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off Launch Complex-1 at Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand carrying NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites-19 (ELaNa-19) payload. Liftoff occurred at 6:33 a.m. UTC on Dec. 17 (1:33 p.m. EST on Dec. 16). The liftoff marks the first flight of a payload under NASA’s Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS). Managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, VCLS was developed to provide increased access to space specifically for these small spacecraft, called CubeSats.