Rocket Lab launches Japanese SAR satellite
Posted: Sat, Aug 22, 2026, 7:53 AM ET (1153 GMT)
Rocket Lab launched a Japanese radar-imaging satellite Thursday. An Electron rocket lifted off from the company's New Zealand launch site at 9:04 a.m. Eastern and placed into orbit the QPS-SAR-18 for Japanese company iQPS. This was the the ninth Electron launch of an iQPS satellite with nine more under contract. It was the 14th Electron launch so far this year, including three HASTE suborbital missions, and company executives said in an earnings call earlier this month that the company expects this year to break last year's record of 21 Electron launches.
Rocket Lab launched a Japanese radar-imaging satellite Thursday. An Electron rocket lifted off from the company's New Zealand launch site at 9:04 a.m. Eastern and placed into orbit the QPS-SAR-18 for Japanese company iQPS. This was the the ninth Electron launch of an iQPS satellite with nine more under contract. It was the 14th Electron launch so far this year, including three HASTE suborbital missions, and company executives said in an earnings call earlier this month that the company expects this year to break last year's record of 21 Electron launches.
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