Rocket Lab launches 9th iQPS radar-imaging satellite
Rocket Lab · iQPS
Electron deployed iQPS's QPS-SAR-18 satellite "SUSANOO-II" on the 93rd Electron mission overall.
what happened
Rocket Lab launched an Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula on August 20, deploying iQPS's QPS-SAR-18 satellite, nicknamed "SUSANOO-II," to a 575-kilometer orbit, per SpaceNews and iQPS. The mission, named "The Lightning God Defends," was Rocket Lab's 93rd Electron launch overall, its 14th of 2026, and its ninth dedicated launch for iQPS's synthetic aperture radar constellation, per Rocket Lab's mission-success release.
why it matters
iQPS still has nine more dedicated Electron launches booked through 2030 to complete its 18-satellite SAR constellation, per Rocket Lab; the cadence keeps Electron as the primary vehicle for one of the busier SAR constellation build-outs and adds to Rocket Lab's 2026 launch total.
for who
SAR imagery resellers and smallsat launch buyers
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Rocket Lab, iQPS
- Category
- launch
- Impact
- noise
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-08-20
- Published
- 2026-08-20 17:28 UTC