Rocket Lab launched the final five satellites for the French company Kinéis' "Internet of Things" constellation tonight (March 17).
An Electron vehicle carrying five of Kinéis' "Internet of Things" spacecraft lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today at 9:31 p.m. EDT (0131 GMT and 2:31 p.m. local New Zealand time on March 18).
If all goes according to plan, the Electron will deploy the five satellites into a circular orbit 404 miles (650 kilometers) above Earth about 66.5 minutes after liftoff.
Tonight's mission, which Rocket Lab calls "High Five," will finish the assembly of Kinéis' 25-nanosatellite constellation. The other 20 spacecraft went up on four Electron launches, in June, September and November of 2024 and February of this year.
Related: Rocket Lab launches 5 IoT satellites on landmark 50th mission (video)
Thanks to this constellation, "Kinéis can connect any object from anywhere in the world and transmit useful data from these objects to users in near real time," Rocket Lab wrote in the "High Five" press kit, which you can find here.
"This data is a decision-making tool that can be used to optimize activities while reducing risks, thanks to three essential functions: tracking, monitoring and alerting," the company added.
"High Five" is the fourth mission of 2025 for the 59-foot-tall (18-meter) Electron. The rocket's third launch of the year occurred just last Friday (March 14), when it sent a radar satellite for the Japan-based Earth-imaging company iQPS to orbit.
Electron flew 14 times in 2024, which was a new high for the vehicle. Rocket Lab also conducted two launches last year with HASTE, a modified suborbital version of Electron that serves as a testbed for hypersonic technology.
