ELaNa 19 Launch

NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites-19 (ELaNa-19) payload after separation from a Rocket Lab Electron rocket after successful liftoff from Launch Complex-1 at Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand. Launched at 6:33 a.m. UTC on Dec. 17 (1:33 p.m. EST on Dec 16), this 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 payloads like this, carrying small spacecraft called CubeSats. The successful launch and deployment officially begins the venture-class era.