Rocket Lab launched a private radar imaging satellite to orbit tonight (March 14).
An Electron vehicle carrying a single satellite for the Japan-based Earth-imaging company iQPS lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT and 1 p.m. local New Zealand time on March 15).
Today's mission, which Rocket Lab calls "The Lightning God Reigns," successfully sent the QPS-SAR-9 satellite to a circular orbit 357 miles (575 kilometers) above Earth, deploying the spacecraft there 55.5 minutes after liftoff as planned.
As its name suggests, QPS-SAR-9 will use synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to study its home planet.
"The spacecraft will join iQPS' growing Earth-imaging constellation that delivers high-resolution monitoring from specific locations every 10 minutes," Rocket Lab wrote in a mission description.
"'The Lightning God Reigns' is the first of eight upcoming launches for iQPS across 2025 and 2026 to build out iQPS' constellation, and follows the Company's earlier successful mission for iQPS launched in December 2023," Rocket Lab added.
Related: Rocket Lab launches 5 IoT satellites on landmark 50th mission (video)
"The Lightning God Reigns" is the third mission of 2025 for Electron, a 59-foot-tall (18 meters) rocket designed to give small satellites dedicated rides to space.
Electron's fourth flight of the year will come in quick succession, if all goes to plan: Rocket Lab aims to launch five satellites for France-based "Internet of Things" company Kinéis on Monday (March 17).
Editor's note: This story was updated at 9:05 p.m. ET on March 14 with news of successful launch and satellite deployment.
