Rocket Lab Successfully Launches First NASA Mission with 3D-Printed Rocket

Rocket Lab is a startup that focusses on getting smaller satellites airborne. Normally, satellite launching is an expensive business and small satellites need to hitch a ride on larger launch vehicles, giving their creators little choice in the orbits of their satellites. To accomplish this, Rocket Lab has used 3D printing to make its launch vehicles lighter and less expensive to make.
On December 16th, the company launched its ELaNa-19 (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) mission from their New Zealand-based Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1. The launch vehicle, the Electron rocket, was carrying 13 CubeSat satellites for research purposes. A little less than an hour after the Electron took to the sky, the CubeSats had been deployed to their assigned orbits.