Rocket Lab launches private Earth-observing radar satellite to orbit (video)
When you purchase through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Credit: Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab launched its sixth mission for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS from its seaside in New Zealand this afternoon (November 5).
A Electron rocket carrying the QPS-SAR-14 satellitenicknamed Yachihoko-I, took off from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site today at 2:51 p.m. EST (7:51 p.m. GMT; 8:51 a.m. Nov. 6 local New Zealand time).
The Electron “kick stage” deployed Yachihoko-I as planned today, ejecting it into a 357-mile-high (575-kilometer) circular orbit about 50 minutes after launch.
View from the second stage of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket during its launch on November 5, 2025, which launched an Earth observation satellite for Japanese company iQPS. The first stage of the Electron is visible in the distance falling back to Earth. | Credit: Rocket Lab
“This satellite will join the rest of the QPS-SAR constellation in providing high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery and Earth monitoring services on a global scale,” Rocket Lab written in a description of the mission. “iQPS aims to build a constellation of 36 SAR satellites that will provide near real-time images of the Earth every 10 minutes.”
Yachihoko-I will be the 13th (not 14th, as the name suggests) iQPS satellite to reach orbit to date. To date, seven members of the growing constellation have flown atop non-electronic rockets: India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, Japan’s Epsilon and SpaceX. Falcon 9to be precise.
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket launches the “Nation God Navigates” mission for Japanese Earth observation company iQPS from New Zealand on November 5, 2025. | Credit: Rocket Lab
Yachihoko-I is named after the Japanese god of nation building, according to Rocket Lab. This explains the nickname the company has given to today’s mission: “The Nation’s God Sails.”
Today’s launch was the 16th of 2025 for Rocket Lab and the 74th overall for the company to date. The vast majority of them were made by Electron, who stands 18 meters tall. Rocket Lab also operates a suborbital version of the vehicle known as the HASTE (“Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron”), which has flown five times since its debut in June 2023.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3 p.m. ET on November 5 with news of the successful liftoff, then again at 3:58 p.m. ET with news of the successful deployment of the satellite.
