Rocket Lab completed its ninth launch for Japanese synthetic aperture radar (SAR) company Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS) on Aug. 21 from New Zealand.
iQPS based in Kyushu, Japan, is working to deploy a constellation of 24 satellites by May 2028 and deploy additional satellites by 2030. This was the company’s ninth launch with Rocket Lab and its 14th successful SAR launch. The company’s SAR data supports predictive analytics for agriclture, national economies, regional markets, and emergency response.
The mission, named ‘The Lightning God Defends,’ took off at 1:04 a.m. local time in New Zealand on Friday, Aug. 21 (9:04 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday). The satellite was deployed to a 575 km Low-Earth Orbit, Rocket Lab confirmed after the launch.
This was Rocket Lab’s 93rd Electron mission overall and 14th launch of this year.
