Rocket Lab’s “We Love the Nightlife” launch was aborted at T-0 just after engine ignition. While aborts are never fun it’s great to see that the vehicle and the team was able to navigate the issue safely. Even better, Peter Beck was able to update us on the probable cause within an hour of the abort:

“Low igniter pressure on one engine. It did not pass it’s Go test and an auto abort was called. Its not uncommon to see low pressures now and again, we just have not seen it lead to an abort for a while. My bet is a tricky pressure transducer. The team will sort it quickly.”

All in all this looks like a really positive outcome in that it further validates Electron’s critical auto abort handling and the team’s ability to almost immediately get to the root of the problem. I’ll update the mission page as soon as the launch is rescheduled. Per the team, the window will remain open for the next couple of weeks:

“We have back-up launch opportunities for #WeLoveTheNightlife through this week and next, but a weather front closing in on LC-1 will likely drive the new target launch date. Stay tuned for updates!”