Rocket Lab
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updated 2 years ago
Launch Date: 12 May 2025 NZT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, New Zealand
Customers: iQPS
Payloads (Satellites) Launched:
• YAMATSUMI-1
‘The Mountain God Guards’ was the fourth launch on Electron for multi-launch customer, Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS), a Japan-based Earth imaging company.
The mission launched a single synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellite called QPS-SAR-11 (nicknamed YAMATSUMI-I for the Japanese god of mountains) to a 575km circular Earth orbit, from where the satellite will join the rest of the iQPS constellation in providing high resolution images and Earth monitoring services globally.
More info: rocketlabcorp.com/assets/Uploads/F66-The-Mountain-God-Guards-Presskit-final-compressed.pdf
Launch Date: 03 June 2025, NZT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, New Zealand
Customers: BlackSky
Payloads (Satellites) Launched:
“Full Stream Ahead” launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand on June 3rd, 2025 for constellation operator BlackSky.
The mission launched the next of BlackSky’s Gen-3 satellites to a mid-inclination circular 470km orbit, where it joined the remainder of the company’s constellation delivering very high-resolution imagery and AI-enabled analytics for daily intelligence operations.
“Full Stream Ahead” was the second in a series of four Electron launches booked by BlackSky to deploy its Gen-3 satellites to orbit this year, and the tenth overall launch for the company – making Electron the most prolific launcher for their constellation to date.
More info: rocketlabcorp.com/assets/Uploads/RL-F65-BlackSky-Full-Stream-Ahead-Presskit-compressed.pdf
Launch Date: 18 May 2025 NZT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, New Zealand
Customers: iQPS
Payloads (Satellites) Launched:
• WADATSUMI-1
The mission deployed a single synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellite called QPS-SAR-10 (nicknamed “WADATSUMI-I” for the Japanese god of the sea) to a 575km circular Earth orbit, from where the satellite will join the rest of the iQPS constellation in providing high resolution images and Earth monitoring services globally.
The mission was the third overall Electron launch for iQPS and the second in a line-up of eight dedicated missions across 2025 and 2026 to deploy iQPS’s constellation.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/F64-iQPS-Presskit-The-Sea-God-Sees.pdf
Launch Date: 27 March 2025, 04:30 NZDT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1
Customers: OroraTech
Payloads (Satellites) Launched:
• 8x OroraTech Constellation Phase 1 satellites deployed to expand OroraTech's constellation providing data from space to help tackle wildfire challenges globally.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/F63-OroraTech-presskit.pdf
Launch Date: 18 March 2025 NZDT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1
Customers: Kinéis
Payloads (Satellites) Launched:
• 5x Kinéis IoT Satellites.
The "High Five" mission launched from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand to deploy five satellites for French IoT company Kinéis and complete the delivery of their entire constellation to orbit in less than a year.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/Kineis-High-Five-Press-Kit.pdf
Launch Date: 15 March 2025 NZDT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1
Customers: iQPS
Payloads (Satellites) Launched:
• QPS-SAR-9 - A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellite to a 575km circular Earth orbit for iQPS, nicknamed “SUSANOO-I”.
The spacecraft joined iQPS’ growing Earth-imaging constellation that delivers high-resolution monitoring from specific locations every 10 minutes.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/F61-The-Lightning-God-Reigns-press-kit-final-.pdf
This animation showcases Rocket Lab’s proposed mission architecture to bring Martian samples to Earth.
Learn more: rocketlabusa.com/missions/mars-sample-return
Launch Date: 19 February 2025, NZDT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Customers: Blacksky
Payloads (Satellites) Launched:
‘Fasten Your Space Belts’ was Rocket Lab’s first of multiple new missions for BlackSky. The mission introduced their newest 35cm high-resolution Gen-3 satellites to orbit, allowing them to greatly enhance and optimize their geospatial intelligence capabilities.
Like earlier Black Sky launches on Electron, this mission was supported by a Rocket Lab manufactured Motorized Lightband; separation systems for the satellite to attach to and deploy from Electron once in space.
'Fasten Your Space Belts' was the ninth launch for BlackSky since 2019, making Rocket Lab the most prolific launch provider for BlackSky’s constellation to date.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/RL-F60-BlackSky-Fasten-Your-Space-Belts.pdf
Thanks to SatNews and SmallSat Symposium for having us!
Launch Date: 09 February 2025 NZDT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1
Customers: Kinéis
Payloads (Satellites) Launched:
• The “IOT 4 You and Me” mission launched on February 9th 2025, carrying five satellites for Kinéis.
The launch took place from Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch site, Launch Complex 1, in New Zealand. It was the fourth of five dedicated Electron launches booked by Kinéis in a multi-launch contract that will see Rocket Lab deploy an entire constellation of 25 IoT satellites. The first three missions were successfully launched by Electron in June, September and November 2024.
“IOT 4 You and Me” was Rocket Lab’s first launch of 2025, with the company expecting this year to exceed its record-breaking launch cadence of 16 launches across Electron and HASTE achieved in 2024.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/IOT-4-You-and-Me-Press-Kit.pdf
Launch Date: 22 December 2024, NZDT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1
Customers: Synspective
Payloads (Satellites) Launched: 1x StriX Satellite
The “Owl The Way Up” mission launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand to deploy a single StriX satellite to orbit for Synspective. The mission was the sixth in a total of 16 launches booked on Electron for Synspective, a Japanese Earth observation company operating a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites designed to deliver imagery that can detect millimetre-level changes to the Earth’s surface from space. Rocket Lab first launched for Synspective in December 2020 and has been the sole launch provider for Synspective’s constellation to date.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/Owl-The-Way-Up-Press-Kit.pdf
Launch Date: 25 November 2024 NZDT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand
Customers: Kinéis
Payloads (Satellites) Launched: 5x Internet of Things Satellites
The “Ice AIS Baby” mission launched successfully on November 25th 2024. Lift-off took place from Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch site, Launch Complex 1, in New Zealand. The mission was the third of five dedicated Electron launches booked by Kinéis in a multi-launch contract that will see Rocket Lab deploy an entire constellation of 25 IoT satellites. The first two missions were successfully launched by Electron in June and September 2024.
More about Kinéis: kineis.com/en/spatial-iot-connectivity
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/Ice-AIS-Baby-Press-Kit2.pdf
Launch your career with Rocket Lab: rocketlabusa.com/careers
Launch Date: 05 November 2024 UTC
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand
Customers: Commercial Customer
Payloads (Satellites) Launched: 1x Commercial Satellite
Electron's 54th mission, 'Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes', was a dedicated mission to low Earth orbit for a confidential commercial customer that launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on November 5th, 2024. The mission was Rocket Lab's 12th launch of 2024, increasing the record number of Electron launches achieved annually since orbital launch services began in 2018.
Rocket Lab’s rapid call-up launch capability, its standardized and rapid production of Electron launch vehicles that ensures a rocket can be assigned a payload for on-demand launch within days, responsive launch sites, and its experienced team behind the second most frequently launched U.S. orbital rocket, were key enablers for this mission.
Launch Date: 20 September, 2024 UTC
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand
Customers: Kinéis
Payloads (Satellites) Launched: 5x Kinéis Satellites
Rocket Lab launched the “Kinéis Killed the RadIOT Star” mission from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 Pad A on 21st September, 2024.
“Kinéis Killed the RadIOT Star” was the second of five dedicated Electron launches for Kinéis (the first mission, ‘No Time Toulouse,’ successfully launched on June 19, 2024). Across all five launches, Rocket Lab will deploy Kinéis’ complete constellation of 25 satellites. “Kinéis Killed the RadIOT Star” was Rocket Lab’s 53rd Electron launch and brought the total number of satellites launched by the company to 192.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/RL-F53-Kineis-Killed-the-RadIOT-Star-Press-Kit.pdf
The ESCAPADE mission sets to further unravel the mysteries of the Red Planet, studying its unique hybrid magnetosphere.
Learn more: rocketlabusa.com/missions/escapade
Say hello to the newest addition in our automated production line: our 75-ton, custom-designed AFP machine that will produce all of Neutron's largest composite structures and save 150,000+ manufacturing hours in Neutron's production process.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/updates/rocket-lab-begins-installation-of-large-carbon-composite-rocket-building-machine
Launch Date: 11 August 2024 UTC
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand
Customers: Capella Space
Payloads (Satellites) Launched: Acadia-3
Rocket Lab launched a dedicated mission for Capella Space, a provider of SAR imagery data and solutions for government and commercial applications.
‘A Sky Full of SARs’ was Rocket Lab’s fifth launch overall for Capella Space across multiple launch contracts beginning from 2020. The mission deployed Capella’s Acadia-3 SAR satellite, a synthetic aperture radar satellite for Earth imagery and observation, to a mid-inclination 615km circular orbit to add to Capella’s existing SAR satellite constellation in low Earth orbit.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/FINAL-RL-F52-Capella-Press-Kit.pdf
Rocket: Electron
Launch Date: 03 August 2024
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand
Launch Time: 04:39 am NZT
Payload: New StriX Satellite
Rocket Lab launched a dedicated mission for Synspective, a Japanese Earth observation company deploying a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites designed to deliver imagery that can detect millimetre-level changes to the Earth’s surface from space.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/FINAL-F51-Synspective-press-kit.pdf
Rocket: Electron
Launch Date: 19 June 2024
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1
Launch Time: 06:13 NZST
Payload: Five Kinéis IoT satellites
The ‘No Time Toulouse’ mission was our milestone 50th Electron launch that launched on June 19th, 2024 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.
The mission was the first of five dedicated Electron launches for Kinéis, a company backed by private and public investors including the French government’s space agency CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales) and CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites) an international space-based solutions provider, to improve global IoT connectivity. Kinéis’ new constellation will connect any object anywhere in the world and guarantee the transmission of targeted and useful data to users, in near-real time, with low energy consumption with more powerful 30kg-class nanosats that integrate IoT technology.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/No-Time-Toulouse-Press-Kit.pdf
More info: rocketlabusa.com/launch/neutron
Launch Date: 05 June, 2024 NZT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand
Customers: NASA
Payloads (Satellites) Launched: PREFIRE
NASA’s PREFIRE mission, short for Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment, is tasked with measuring heat loss from both the Arctic and Antarctica, in an aim to help researchers better understand Earth’s energy budget.
The Arctic and Antarctic help to regulate Earth’s climate by radiating a lot of the heat initially absorbed at the tropics back into space. But for regions like the Arctic, about 60% of that heat escapes to space in the form of farinfrared wavelengths that haven’t been systematically measured.
Changes at Earth’s poles can influence global weather patterns and affect sea level rise. The climate data collected by PREFIRE will help to provide a more accurate read of the future of some of Earth’s coldest, most remote regions - and in turn, the future of our planet
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/FINAL-PREFIRE-presskit-Web.pdf
Launch Date: 25 May, 2024 NZT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand
Customers: NASA
Payloads (Satellites) Launched: PREFIRE
NASA’s PREFIRE mission, short for Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment, is tasked with measuring heat loss from both the Arctic and Antarctica, in an aim to help researchers better understand Earth’s energy budget.
The Arctic and Antarctic help to regulate Earth’s climate by radiating a lot of the heat initially absorbed at the tropics back into space. But for regions like the Arctic, about 60% of that heat escapes to space in the form of farinfrared wavelengths that haven’t been systematically measured.
Changes at Earth’s poles can influence global weather patterns and affect sea level rise. The climate data collected by PREFIRE will help to provide a more accurate read of the future of some of Earth’s coldest, most remote regions - and in turn, the future of our planet
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/FINAL-PREFIRE-presskit-Web.pdf
Launch Date: 24 April, 2024 NZT
Launch Site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand
Customers: NASA and KAIST
Payloads (Satellites) Launched:
• NEONSAT-1 will perform Earth-observation of the Korean Peninsula for KAIST, which will then pair the satellite’s data with artificial intelligence to monitor for natural disasters in the region. NEONSAT-1 is the first of 11 satellites for KAIST’s planned constellation to image the Korean Peninsula several times daily.
• The second satellite deployed was NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, which is a technology demonstration of new materials that use sunlight to propel a spacecraft. Much like a sailboat is powered by wind pushing against a sail, solar sails employ the pressure of sunlight for propulsion. This mission plans to test how well new composite booms unfurl the sail from the spacecraft – which is about the size of a toaster – to an area about the size of a small apartment. Data from this mission will be used for designing future larger-scale composite solar sail systems for space weather early warning satellites, asteroid and other small body reconnaissance missions, and missions to observe the polar regions of the sun.
More info: rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/RL-F47-BeginningOfTheSwarm-PressKit-2.pdf
Remember how we called them all the same thing, Photon?
Yeah, we fixed that.


