JAXA’s RAISE-4 satellite will launch on a Rocket Lab Electron mission. Photo: JAXA

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has ordered two dedicated Electron launches from Rocket Lab, the first of which will launch as soon as this December. 

This is Rocket Lab’s first launch deal with JAXA, but the company has signed a number of recent launch agreements with Japanese customers: a 10-launch deal with Synspective and a three-launch deal with iQPS. 

Both launches will deploy satellites for JAXA’s Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program and launch from Rocket Lab’s facilities in New Zealand. 

The first launch will deploy RAISE-4, a satellite in JAXA’s Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration program, which will demonstrate eight technologies from Japanese companies, universities, and research institutions. 

The second launch, targeted for 2026, is a rideshare mission manifested by JAXA with eight satellites. This includes educational smallsats, an ocean monitoring satellite, a demonstration satellite for ultra-small multispectral cameras, and a deployable antenna that uses origami folding techniques. 

“It’s an incredible honor to be entrusted by JAXA to further their goals of innovation and development for Japan. These missions are a demonstration of Electron’s global importance, supporting the growth of Japan’s space industry with launch on a U.S. rocket from a New Zealand launch site, and we’re proud to be entrusted to deliver them,” Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said in a release.