Rocket Lab launches Japanese radar satellite
by Andrew Sookdeo
Washington DC (UPI) Aug 5, 2025

Rocket Lab launched a synthetic aperture radar satellite dubbed QPS-SAR-12 for the Japanese company IQS on Tuesday morning, part of a mission to build its constellation in low Earth Orbit.

The mission "The Harvest Goddess Thrives" lifted off from Rocket Lab's launch complex 1 at the New Zealand site at 12:10 a.m. EDT.

The deployed satellite went into circular orbit 357 miles above Earth after about 54 minutes, Rocket Lab said on X.

"Every Electron launch is a demonstration of payload deployment precision for our customers -- an especially critical element when scaling satellite constellations," Rocket Lab Founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck said in a press release. Today's fifth and flawless deployment for iQPS once again underscores Electron's reliability and continues to prove that consistent tailored access to space is a reality for Electron for our customers."

"The data gathered by QPS-SAR constellation has the potential to revolutionize industries and reshape the future," Rocket Lab wrote in the mission's press release.

"The Harvest Goddess Thrvies" is Rocket Lab's 11th Electron Mission this year and 69th launch overall.

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