7 hours until Rocket Lab's second launch of 2024!

Viper_NZ, 3 months ago

I wish you could pay to watch these launches in person.

absGeekNZ, 3 months ago

I would be interested in a rocket lab focused community

Dave, 3 months ago

I would subscribe, but I don’t know much about rockets so wouldn’t have much to contribute.

Rangelus, 3 months ago

Same here. Space stuff neat, but I ain’t no rocket surgeon.

absGeekNZ, 3 months ago

I know a fair bit about rockets, I have been interested in them since I was a kid.

I’m by no means an expert, but I try to keep up to date with what is happening in the world of space flight / satellite tech.

threelonmusketeers, 2 months ago

If a Rocket Lab community is created, would you be willing to co-moderate it with me? I don’t expect the workload would be high, but having multiple mods is good for redundancy, and having a mod who could provide a New Zealand perspective would be nice.

absGeekNZ, 2 months ago

I can do that

ColonialSpore, 3 months ago

I can spell rockitt, and that’s all I know.

But, I have been to their facility in Mt Wellington. I work for a company who builds components for them.

threelonmusketeers, 3 months ago

Do you think this instance be a suitable/appropriate server for c/RocketLab? I might make an alt account on this instance.

No worries if you don’t have much to contribute. I can post news and launch info as they come up, and you can post questions in the comments.

Dave, 3 months ago

Possibly? I note that rocketlab is an American company that happens to launch in NZ. Also, we don’t have open community registrations, only admins can do that.

However, I’m willing to consider adding the community if people think this is an appropriate place for it?

threelonmusketeers, 3 months ago

If I recall correctly, Rocket Lab was founded in New Zealand but moved their registration for funding/growth reasons. While they are technically a US company now, they still have major ties to New Zealand and operate launch pads and manufacturing facilities in both countries.

In the spirit of decentralization, I thought it would be wise to distribute the space communities amongst multiple servers, and that this server might be an appropriate fit for c/RocketLab. I wouldn’t want to intrude on your server though, if you feel that it would not be a good fit.

Dave, 3 months ago

Interesting! It seems you’re right about it being founded in NZ, confirmed on Wikipedia.

I distinctly remember seeing an interview with someone representing RocketLab being interviewed for an NZ audience, and they were asked if they felt RocketLab was an NZ company at heart. The response was basically no RocketLab is not an NZ company at heart but lots of great NZers work for us. It gave me the impression that RocketLab wasn’t really connected to NZ other than the launches being here.

I’m not against adding a community, and with this new found knowledge I think it now makes more sense.

But before making decisions like this I like to check with people to make sure it feels OK to them, so I’ll do that and get back to you in the next day or so.

threelonmusketeers, 3 months ago

before making decisions like this I like to check with people to make sure it feels OK to them

Sounds like a great idea!

Dave, 3 months ago

Well it seems there are a range of opinions so it might be a few more days. We haven’t added any communities since the early days and so don’t have a good process to decide whether to add a new one!

Hopefully you’re not in a hurry!

threelonmusketeers, 3 months ago

No worries, take as much time as you need! The next Rocket Lab launch isn’t until March 9th/10th, and if you need more time or decide that the community would not be a good fit for the instance, we can continue using the general !spaceflight community.

Dave, 2 months ago

Just an update, we’re currently running a survey to get people’s views on this. If we add the community, are you volunteering to be the mod?

threelonmusketeers, 2 months ago

Yes, I would be happy to volunteer as a mod. I already have some moderation experience with the !spaceflight and !spacex communities. I do not, however, have any direct connections to New Zealand, and would feel slightly awkward as the sole moderator. Would it be possible to co-moderate the community with someone from this instance? Given their previous comments in this thread, I’m thinking that @absGeekNZ might be a good fit for the role…

Dave, 2 months ago

Added! lemmy.nz/c/rocketlab

Easiest way to promote you to mod is on a post or reply you make in the community.

Same goes for you @absGeekNZ if you’re keen to also take on a moderator role.

Perhaps an into post for the community might be a good start, otherwise I believe I was promised a rocket launch tonight!

threelonmusketeers, 2 months ago

Added!

Thanks, that’s awesome!

Perhaps an into post for the community might be a good start

Good idea, I’ve just made a intro/welcome post now.

I believe I was promised a rocket launch tonight!

That particular launch has slipped to early next week to allow for additional launch preparations. I’ll post a launch thread in the next couple of days.

Dave, 3 months ago

Awesome, another successful launch!

(I didn’t watch it live, just once I got out of bed)

thevoyagekayaking, 3 months ago

Awesome, and a very cool payload as well by the sound of things.

Rangelus, 3 months ago

This is pretty damn cool, mate!