WASHINGTON \u2014 Rocket Lab launched the latest in a series of radar imaging satellites for a Japanese company May 17.<\/p>\n
An Electron rocket lifted off from Pad A at the company\u2019s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 4:17 a.m. Eastern. About 50 minutes later it deployed its payload, the QPS-SAR-10 satellite, into a circular 575-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 42 degrees.<\/p>\n
The satellite was built by Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, or iQPS, a Japanese company developing a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites. This was the third Electron launch for iQPS and the second in a multi-launch contract after a launch in mid-March<\/a>.<\/p>\n The satellite is the tenth that iQPS has launched, although its first satellite malfunctioned shortly after launch and two others were lost in an Epsilon launch failure in 2022. The company is planning to grow its constellation to 24 satellites by 2027 and ultimately to 36 spacecraft.<\/p>\n \u201cWith more Electron launches ahead, we\u2019re more committed than ever to accelerating the buildout of our satellite constellation, and we look forward to continuing this powerful partnership,\u201d Shunsuke Onishi, chief executive of iQPS, said in a statement after the launch.<\/p>\n The iQPS contract with Rocket Lab includes six more Electron launches, four in 2025 and two in 2026. The next launch is scheduled for June, Rocket Lab announced after this launch.<\/p>\n Rocket Lab touted the iQPS contract as evidence of its ability to support deployments of smallsat constellations where customers need access to specific orbits and control over their deployment schedules, which the company argues that rideshare launches, like SpaceX\u2019s Transporter and Bandwagon missions, cannot provide.<\/p>\n