Watch Live Tonight! Rocket Lab Launching DARPA's R3D2 @ 7:27 pm ET

[Judi Lynn]

By SPACE.com Staff an hour ago Spaceflight

Liftoff is at 7:27 p.m. EDT/23270 GMT).

After several days of delay, a Rocket Lab Electon booster carrying DARPA's experimental R3D2 satellite will launch no earlier than tonight, March 28, at 7:27 p.m. EDT (2327GMT) during a four-hour window.

You can watch the launch here, beginning 15 minutes before launch, courtesy of Rocket Lab. You can also watch the launch directly from Rocket Lab's website here.

The R3D2 satellite was built by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to test new communications technology in space. Its launch will be Rocket Lab's first flight of 2019.

From DARPA: "R3D2 will monitor antenna deployment dynamics, survivability and radio frequency (RF) characteristics of a membrane antenna in low-Earth orbit. The antenna could enable multiple missions that currently require large satellites, to include high data rate communications to disadvantaged users on the ground. A successful demonstration also will help prove out a smaller, faster-to-launch and lower cost capability, allowing the Department of Defense, as well as other users, to make the most of the new commercial market for small, inexpensive launch vehicles. Satellite design, development, and launch took approximately 18 months."

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https://www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html