Rocket Lab Launches QPS-SAR Radar Satellite
Electron rocket deploys WADATSUMI-II for Japan's iQPS from New Zealand's Launch Complex 1 in the company's 99th mission.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Space
Rocket Lab's Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand on November 3, 2026, carrying the WADATSUMI-II synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite for iQPS. The mission, named 'The Sea God Surveys,' placed the satellite into a 575 km low Earth orbit.
Why it matters
The satellite supports iQPS's push to build and deploy its imaging constellation quickly. Launches of commercial Earth-observation satellites like this one expand the supply of radar imagery available to customers worldwide.
The launch was the 99th Electron mission and deployed the satellite to a 575 km low Earth orbit at an inclination chosen to optimize revisit rates over the Asia-Pacific region. Post-deployment performance and commissioning results were not available at the time of reporting.
The players
Rocket Lab Corporation
Rocket Lab is a launch services and space systems company listed on Nasdaq under the ticker RKLB, known for its Electron small-satellite launch vehicle.
iQPS (Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc.)
iQPS is a Japanese satellite company developing a synthetic aperture radar Earth-imaging constellation known as QPS-SAR.
The details
Electron launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, carrying the QPS-SAR satellite built for the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS). The orbital inclination was tailored to improve how often the satellite can image the Asia-Pacific region.
Timeline
November 3, 2026, 5:41 a.m. NZDT: Electron launches WADATSUMI-II from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
Big Picture
The mission is the 99th flight of Rocket Lab's Electron vehicle, extending the record of commercial small-satellite launches from New Zealand. It adds another radar-imaging satellite to the growing market for commercial Earth observation.
Commercial radar satellites like WADATSUMI-II can image the same region regardless of cloud cover or daylight, which matters for disaster monitoring and maritime tracking. The revisit rate set by the orbital inclination determines how frequently customers can receive new imagery of Asia-Pacific areas.
The takeaway
Launch cadence and satellite revisit rates are the two figures that determine how quickly commercial radar imagery becomes available. Readers tracking the space sector can use Electron's mission count as a proxy for the pace of small-launch services.
Further reading
For more on commercial launches and orbital missions, see our Space coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Star.
