WASHINGTON — A Rocket Lab Electron launched the latest in a series of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites for a Japanese company Aug. 5.
The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1, Pad B in New Zealand at 12:10 a.m. Eastern. The rocket’s payload, the QPS-SAR-12 satellite for Japanese company Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS), deployed about 53 minutes later into a 575-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 42 degrees.
IQPS reported making contact with the satellite 30 minutes after payload deployment, and confirmed that the satellite was working as expected in orbit.
The launch was the fifth by Rocket Lab for iQPS overall and fourth this year, following launches in March, May and June. The launches this year are part of a multi-launch contract that includes four more launches scheduled for later this year and into 2026.
“Every Electron launch is a demonstration of payload deployment precision for our customers – an especially critical element when scaling satellite constellations,” Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, said in a statement after this launch. “Today’s fifth and flawless deployment for iQPS once again underscores Electron’s reliability and continues to prove that consistent tailored access to space is a reality on Electron for our customers.”
The launches are part of an effort by iQPS to deploy a constellation of 24 SAR satellites by 2027, ultimately reaching 36.
“As the number of satellites increases, so too does the frequency and value of the data we are able to provide,” Shunsuke Onishi, chief executive of iQPS, said in the post-launch statement. “We will continue to accelerate our efforts to ensure that our satellite data can be leveraged in even more fields and applications.”
The launch was the 11th Electron mission this year. Rocket Lab has previously announced plans to carry out more than 20 Electron launches in 2025, including a suborbital version called HASTE. The company is scheduled to report its second quarter financial results after the markets close Aug. 7.