noiselaunch2026-11-02

Rocket Lab launches 10th dedicated Electron mission for iQPS

Rocket Lab's 99th Electron flight deployed iQPS's WADATSUMI-II SAR satellite, the pair's 10th dedicated launch together.

// sources · 2 attached

what happened

Rocket Lab launched its 99th Electron mission, "The Sea God Surveys," from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 5:41 a.m. NZDT November 3 (16:41 UTC November 2), deploying iQPS's WADATSUMI-II synthetic aperture radar satellite to a 575-kilometer low Earth orbit on an inclination tailored to optimize iQPS's revisit rates over the Asia-Pacific region, per Rocket Lab's own release. It was the tenth consecutive dedicated Electron launch for iQPS with a 100% mission-success record; Rocket Lab said eight more dedicated Electron launches are booked to complete iQPS's SAR constellation by 2030, and its 100th Electron launch, also carrying a QPS-SAR satellite, is scheduled no earlier than November 14.

why it matters

Routine as the mission is, it keeps Rocket Lab on pace for its 100th Electron flight and keeps iQPS's SAR constellation build-out on schedule, with eight more dedicated launches already booked through 2030.