Rocket Lab plans 99th launch with Japanese radar satellite — Space.com

In New Zealand, Rocket Lab plans to launch an Electron rocket carrying an Earth-observation radar satellite for Japanese company iQPS. The mission is called The Sea God Surveys and will be Rocket Lab's 99th launch overall, Space.com reports.

Where to watch the launch

The Electron launch is scheduled from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site during a window opening at 11:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time, or 16:30 GMT. The company is expected to begin its broadcast about 30 minutes before launch.

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iQPS satellite constellation

This will be Rocket Lab's tenth launch for iQPS, which is building a constellation of 36 satellites equipped with synthetic aperture radar in low Earth orbit. Such spacecraft can observe Earth's surface through cloud cover and operate both day and night.

Electron rocket

For the 18-meter-tall, two-stage Electron rocket, this flight is expected to be its 90th. This year, the launch vehicle has already completed 16 launches. Rocket Lab conducted its remaining nine missions with HASTE, a suborbital version of Electron used to test technologies in hypersonic flight.