Rocket Lab launches tenth iQPS radar satellite on Electron rocket

Rocket Lab launched an uncrewed two-stage Electron rocket from its New Zealand facility at 11:41 a.m. EST (1641 GMT) on November 2, 2026. Starlust reported that the mission, named The Sea God Surveys, successfully carried a radar satellite into orbit for Tokyo-based iQPS. As FTMQ Space reported earlier, the uncrewed flight launched at 16:41 UTC on Monday to deliver the payload into orbit. [1][13]

According to Starlust, the flight marked the 99th total launch for Rocket Lab and the 90th flight overall for the Electron rocket. The mission was the 17th Electron launch conducted by the company this year. Starlust noted that the satellite was delivered to space for the Earth-imaging satellite constellation operated by iQPS. [1]

Out of 99 total launches conducted by Rocket Lab, 90 were Electron orbital flights and nine used HASTE, a suborbital variant used for testing, Starlust reported. The Electron rocket uses electric-pump-fed Rutherford engines. The latest payload represents the tenth operational radar satellite for the synthetic aperture radar constellation of iQPS, as FTMQ Space reported earlier. [1][12][13]

The successful mission leaves Rocket Lab one launch away from completing 100 total missions, as FTMQ Space reported earlier. [13]