Rocket Lab's big Electron rocket launch from Wallops a 'flawless success.'

For Rocket Lab's "Virginia Is For Launch Lovers" mission, the seventh time was a charm.

In what it called a "flawless success," Rocket Lab's first launch from a U.S. location, its Electron rocket lifted off Tuesday, lighting up the night sky over NASA's Wallops Island space facility.

The liftoff at 6 p.m. from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within Wallops delivered three satellites to low Earth orbit for HawkEye 360, Rocket Lab said in a statement.

The first effort to launch Electron was scrubbed on Dec. 7 and subsequently pushed back five times until Dec. 20. Rocket Lab and Wallops resumed the effort on Jan. 23 but that was also scrapped due to weather.

The Wallops liftoff was Rocket Lab's 33rd Electron launch but the first from Wallops. Its other launches have been from its Complex 1 in New Zealand.

Rocket Lab said it has now  successfully deployed 155 satellites to orbit from its three launch pads across the U.S. and New Zealand.

Built with support from Virginia Space, the Commonwealth of Virginia and NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 is designed to serve the space needs of commercial, civil, defense and national security customers, supporting up to 12 missions per year, the company said.

RELATED: UPDATE: Rocket Lab's first Electron launch set from Wallops today

“Electron is already the leading small orbital rocket globally, and today’s perfect mission from a new pad is testament to our team’s unrelenting commitment to mission success,” said founder and CEO Peter Beck.

“After our busiest launch year yet in 2022 with nine successful missions, what better way to kick off the new year than by launching Virginia-built spacecraft from a Virginia launch site, enabled by our rapidly growing Virginia-based team."

The launch from Wallops  also marked the introduction of the agency’s autonomous flight termination capability, known as NAFTU (NASA Autonomous Flight Termination Unit), which  can provide faster and cheaper access to space for small satellites.

“We are honored to support the launch of this historic mission,” said Ted Mercer, CEO and executive director of Virginia Space. “In addition to being Rocket Lab’s first and only U.S. launch location, we will also be building rockets and processing their payload right here in Accomack County – something that has never been done in Virginia.

"Our partnership with Rocket Lab is a unique opportunity for the Commonwealth of Virginia to create long-term economic development opportunities in the form of high-paying jobs, launch viewing tourism and construction of new facilities on the Eastern Shore.”

The “Virginia Is For Launch Lovers” mission was the first of three Electron launches for HawkEye 360 in a contract that will see Rocket Lab deliver 15 satellites to low Earth orbit in 2023 and 2024, the Rocket Lab statement said.

These missions will grow HawkEye 360’s constellation of radio frequency monitoring satellites. Rocket Lab will also supply HawkEye 360 with separation systems produced by Planetary Systems Corporation, a Maryland-based space hardware company it acquired in December 2021.

The Wallops facility will also be home to Rocket Lab's  new larger launch vehicle Neutron and construction is underway of the Neutron Production Complex.

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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Rocket Lab's first Wallops launch puts 3 satellites into orbit