Rocket Lab launches 10th Electron mission of this year with IQPS-SAR-5 satellite

Rocket Lab on December 15 launched its 10th Electron rocket of this year, exceeding its record of 9 of these rocket launches from last year.

It’s the 42nd overall Electron rocket flight of the rocket firm, which carried an Earth-imaging satellite to place into orbit.

Electron is a lightweight, dedicated launch vehicle for small satellites. It’s a reusable orbital-class small rocket that helps reduce launch costs.

The mission was named “The Moon God Awakens” and launched from Pad B at Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 17:5 NZDT/04:05 UTC.

Rocket Lab Electron Rocket lifting off from Pad B at Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand

The flight hosted IQPS-SAR-5 satellite “TSUKUYOMI-I”, which is a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite. It was developed by Japan-based Earth imaging company the Institute for Q-shu Pioneer of Space and will collect high-resolution images of the Earth.

This new satellite joined the already deployed IQPS satellite in orbit as the Pioneer of Space wants to grow the satellite constellation to 36.

The Rocket Lab revealed that both parties were engaged in this mission for the past eight months from contract signing to deployment.

Earlier this month, Rocket Lab announced a launch services agreement with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) for a rideshare mission in the first half of 2024.

The ride-share mission includes KAIST’s NeonSat-1, NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) satellite and it will lift off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.