Rocket Lab, a global leader in launch services and space systems, successfully launched its second mission for a Japanese customer, the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS). ‘The Lightning God Reigns’ mission lifted off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, at 1:00 p.m. NZDT (00:00 UTC) on March 15, 2025, to successfully deploy iQPS’ QPS-SAR-9 spacecraft to a 575 km circular Earth orbit. The mission follows Rocket Lab’s first launch for the company in December 2023, when Electron deployed another QPS-SAR satellite as part of iQPS’ newly established radar imaging constellation.

“The Lightning God Reigns” is the first of eight new launches for iQPS that are scheduled to launch throughout 2025 and 2026 as part of one of the largest Electron launch agreements to date. Five more launches are expected to take place in 2025, with the remaining two scheduled for 2026. Rocket Lab’s next mission for iQPS is scheduled to launch no earlier than May 2025. Each mission has been commissioned to build out iQPS’ planned constellation of up to 36 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. The constellation is capable of imaging the Earth day and night and through any weather, to provide near real-time observation data for almost any location in the world.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: “Congratulations to the Rocket Lab and iQPS teams on yet another successful mission together. Every Electron launch in 2025 so far has been to expand a satellite constellation and with this latest mission success, you can see why. Electron provides our customers with total flexibility and control over their schedule, orbit, and other critical mission elements to create their constellation exactly as they need it. We’re looking forward to continuing our constellation build out for iQPS this year and next.” 

iQPS CEO, Dr. Shunsuke Onishi, says: “I sincerely appreciate the dedication and hard work of the teams at iQPS and Rocket Lab in making this launch mission a success, and I am truly impressed by the short timeline from QPS-SAR-9’s departure from Fukuoka, Japan, through its journey via Mahia Peninsula, to its successful deployment into LEO. As we prepare for the launch of seven more QPS-SARs between this year and next year, I am reassured by the reliability and efficiency of Electron in executing missions like this one.”

Rocket Lab’s next mission is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in just three days’ time on March 18, 2025 NZDT.

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