"Two Thumbs Up"

Electron carried R3D2, a DARPA-funded satellite built to space-qualify a membrane reflectarray antenna: a tissue-thin Kapton disc that stowed compactly for launch and unfurled to 2.25 meters in orbit. The design aimed to give small satellites the communications reach of far larger spacecraft, without the cost and wait of a rideshare slot on a big rocket.

The flight was Rocket Lab's first dedicated launch for the U.S. military, delivered in about 18 months from contract to orbit.