spacetoday.net: Rocket Lab wins launch contract from Japanese company iQPS

Posted: Sat, Aug 19, 2023, 11:48 AM ET (1548 GMT)
Japanese company iQPS, which had planned to launch a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite with Virgin Orbit, has switched to Rocket Lab. The companies announced Thursday that the QPS-SAR-5 satellite will launch on a dedicated Electron rocket in September. Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne was originally tapped to launch the satellite in a deal announced last May, but Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy before the launch could take place. The deal continues a busy month for Rocket Lab that includes a contract for five Electron launches for BlackSky, a two-launch NASA contract announced earlier this week and a contract with an undisclosed customer for a launch of the suborbital version of Electron.