Name A Star Live is proud to announce our participation
in the first ever launch into space from New Zealand!
The Whetū Flight
(pronounced "Fet-two," named after the
Maori word for "star") was launched aboard
Rocket Lab's new Ātea-1
rocket. The mission was a suborbital
flight, meaning the spacecraft flew into space and
returned to Earth, without orbiting Earth. Launch
occurred from Great Mercury Island, located
northeast of New Zealand's North Island.
 |
The
Name A Star Live logo appears third from the
top of the Atea-1 launch vehicle. (Photo taken
of Atea-1 in shipping crate.) |
See two New Zealand television
reports about this flight:
• Click
here
to watch a report about the launch, including liftoff
footage.
• This
report focuses on the payloads on board, including
Name A Star Live. Also, an astronomer gives his
take on flying star names in space.
Launch occurred at 2:28 pm, Nov.
30, 2009 (New Zealand time), which was 7:28 pm CST
Nov. 29 in the United States. Liftoff occurred from
Great Mercury Island, which is located off the northeast
coast of New Zealand's North Island. Click
here to watch Rocket Lab's flight simulation video.
The star names and Star
Certificte personal messages of all Name A Star
Live customers who purchased before November 16,
2009 were on this spaceflight.
After flying in space, the rocket's
payload -- including the star names and messages
-- re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and parachuted
to Earth. We will e-mail each of our customers a
Launch
Certificate, certifying their participation
on board The Whetū Flight!
Read about our previous
space missions.
