A pair of small satellites built by Rocket Lab for NASA's upcoming Mars mission have recently arrived in Florida for pre-launch preparations. The twin Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) spacecraft will study the interaction between the solar wind and the Martian magnetosphere.

The announcement of the spacecraft's arrival was made by NASA's Launch Services Program on social media on August 18. These satellites were transported from Rocket Lab's factory in Long Beach, California, to Florida several days earlier.

Scheduled to launch sometime this fall on the inaugural flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, the specific launch date or period for the ESCAPADE mission has not been disclosed by NASA or the other organizations involved. However, industry sources suggest that the mission's target launch is expected to be in October, provided that New Glenn is ready.

Rocket Lab will spend the next three weeks carrying out final pre-launch processing of the spacecraft in Florida. This includes performance tests to ensure there was no damage during transit, as well as the loading of nitrogen, helium, and propellants. Once these preparations are completed, the ESCAPADE spacecraft will be ready for launch.

Unlike previous Mars missions, New Glenn will not launch the ESCAPADE satellites directly towards Mars. Instead, they will be placed into an extended Earth orbit, from which they will use their own thrusters to navigate towards the Red Planet. The critical Mars orbit insertion burn will take place approximately 11 months after the initial launch.

Rocket Lab faced the challenge of developing the ESCAPADE spacecraft without knowing which launch vehicle would carry them. After NASA removed ESCAPADE as a secondary payload from the Psyche mission, Rocket Lab redesigned the mission, allowing NASA more launch options. This approach, while advantageous for offering flexibility, required additional work to accommodate various launch vehicles.

Each of the twin ESCAPADE spacecraft, named Blue and Gold after the colors of the University of California Berkeley, weighs 524 kilograms, with the science payload accounting for only eight kilograms. Propellant constitutes 70% of the spacecraft's mass. To ensure efficiency, Rocket Lab utilized its own components, such as electronics boxes, star trackers, and solar panels. The main engine, however, was sourced from ArianeGroup for its stability and reliability.

The development of the ESCAPADE spacecraft was relatively swift, taking only three and a half years, compared to the typical decade-long timeline for Mars missions. Rocket Lab plans to use the knowledge gained from building ESCAPADE in its expanding space systems business, which includes projects with Varda Space Industries, MDA Space, Globalstar, and the Space Development Agency.

The efficient and versatile design of the ESCAPADE spacecraft has the potential for deployment in future missions. Rocket Lab aims to utilize this architecture for other interplanetary proposals and high-energy movements between Earth's orbits. The company seeks continuous improvement in their systems to further optimize efficiency.

With the arrival of the ESCAPADE spacecraft in Florida, the excitement for NASA's Mars mission continues to grow. As the final preparations are underway, the scientific community and space enthusiasts eagerly anticipate the launch and the valuable insights that will be gained from this ambitious endeavor.