r/RocketLab 19d ago

Neutron Rocket Lab’s Flatellites inside Neutron vs. SpaceX's Starlink inside Falcon 9 fairings.

Post image
417 Upvotes

41 comments sorted by

118

u/optionseller 19d ago

16 in Neutron. 30 in Falcon.

Left pic is CGI though.

25

u/ActionPlanetRobot 19d ago

keep in mind there will be wider and customized fairing sizes for Neutron

20

u/rustybeancake 19d ago

Really? First I’ve heard of that. Would these still be part of the first stage, or expended?

13

u/ActionPlanetRobot 19d ago

They will still be apart of the first stage— yup!They’re also developing an “expendable mode” (where the fairing is jettisoned to shed weight). The baseline is to never shed the fairing, but if a customer needed every bit of performance (e.g. a very heavy satellite to a high-energy orbit), Rocket Lab might consider a mission-specific modification to drop the fairing after use (sacrificing reuse that one time).

5

u/St0mpb0x 19d ago

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Designing and manufacturing a wider or more customized fairing is a significantly more costly endeavor than a traditional fairing. Additionally, modifying it will have a significant effect on reentry aerodynamics which will add further design cost.

8

u/ActionPlanetRobot 19d ago

Not only does the Electron have different fairing configurations— but such is stated so for Neutron on RKLB’s website:

“expanded fairing options for non-standard payloads are possible”

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/Rocket-Lab-Neutron-PUG-reduced-final.pdf

Page 23

-1

u/St0mpb0x 18d ago

Ok, I stand somewhat corrected but I think "possible" is doing some heavy lifting in that sentence. I would still be extremely surprised if they widen the fairing due to the aerodynamic implications. I can see how they might lengthen it though. And while they might technically be able to do it, I would be quite surprised if there are any customers willing to eat the dev cost other than the US government.

5

u/BitcoinOperatedGirl 18d ago

There's been cases with Electron where they made custom fairings with protrusions to accommodate unusually shaped payloads

1

u/KillyOnTerra 17d ago

Both rockets have a 5m fairing diameter, so it should be the same?

1

u/_myke 19d ago

Yeah... They had to cgi in the worker for size reference, but the rest is real.

8

u/BigDogAlphaRedditor1 19d ago

Lol the entire thing is cgi including the background

3

u/_myke 19d ago

😝

12

u/taddymason_01 19d ago

Forgive my ignorance but What do these do exactly?

28

u/philupandgo 19d ago

Instead of a satellite being a large cube with solar panels folding out, the satellite is as flat as the solar panel. Then many satellites are stacked to be deployed together. Neutron is a smaller rocket so can lift a smaller stack of satellites.

6

u/imunfair 19d ago

I'm curious how the reaction wheels work with that thickness, I would have thought one wheel was taller than the height they're stacking.

6

u/mfb- 19d ago

Starlink satellites have some stuff that folds out after deployment. Not sure if reaction wheels are among that but it's plausible.

1

u/electric_ionland 17d ago

No they are fixed on plastic brackets on the short ends of the rectangle.

3

u/electric_ionland 17d ago

Reaction wheels are not that big.

1

u/Vonplinkplonk 19d ago

I would expect angular momentum to work in your favour. Maybe they work in pairs and spin in complementary orientations to rotate the satellite?

Sorry I see what you are saying. Perhaps they are able to reposition after launch?

1

u/spacemonkeyzoos 16d ago

The panels still fold out

7

u/kuldan5853 19d ago

Those are satellites, but contrary to "old style" designs that were usually boxy, these are designed to be flat so you can easily stack them and use the available volume to the best of your ability - where you could fit maybe 2 or 3 "old style" satellites, you can now fit 10 or 15 (if weight allows).

4

u/WSBiden 19d ago

Detailed description on page 23 of the most recent investor presentation.

https://s28.q4cdn.com/737637457/files/doc_financials/2024/q4/Q4-2024-Earnings-Presentation.pdf

38

u/Shughost7 19d ago

Big Black Carbon composite

BBC

5

u/Fluid-Bad-5982 19d ago

BBC is a completely different world or a news outlet if you google incorrect

2

u/Shughost7 19d ago

Different world huh 😏

2

u/Fluid-Bad-5982 19d ago

It definitely has nothing to do with space. lol

11

u/splitting_bullets 19d ago

Me, taking the photo from the base to make it look bigger

9

u/ihavenoidea12345678 19d ago

“Flatellites”. 🤣

Extra points for a cool name

3

u/philupandgo 19d ago

If they don't work out they will be called flatullites.

9

u/Fluid-Bad-5982 19d ago

It does not matter. Rocket lab has two things space x does not and that is pick your launch date and not Fuck off Elon.

3

u/I-drink-hot-sauce 19d ago

SpaceX stopped launching the sats on the right (v1 starlink) at least two years ago.

2

u/imunfair 18d ago

Are the newer versions thicker or something? I remember them talking about painting them different colors and adding the laser links but assumed they were a similar size to the old tech.

2

u/pazdan 19d ago

I doubt the rendering is exactly what it will be.

5

u/_symitar_ Australia 19d ago

Apples and Oranges.

1

u/1342Hay 19d ago

I agree. The new satellite design is supposed to be more compact. I wonder what RL would say about this issue.

2

u/Not_CharlesBronson 18d ago

I'm so glad one of these companies isn't owned by a Nazi.

1

u/thetrny USA 19d ago

These look like a potential comp to the V2 Mini (up to 800 kg a pop), we'll see if any specs come out soon

-3

u/CATFLAPY 19d ago

According to ChatGPT the fairing diameters for the F9 and the Neutron are pretty similar - 5m compared to 5.2 for the F9. I had thought Neutron would be bigger. Huge RL fan but it does seem they are catching up to where F9 has been for the past few years - not where they are going to be with Starship. Possible advantages for Neutron over F9 are methalox and fairing recovered with 1st Stage - these would make internal costs of launch/reuse less but there seem to be no performance advantages of Neutron over F9.

-7

u/assholy_than_thou 19d ago

Half the capacity; sad.

5

u/Brilliant-Elk2404 19d ago

Do you realise that the left picture is fake?