AI Insight
Rocket Lab is scheduled to launch QPS-SAR-13, a Japanese Earth-observing radar satellite, aboard an Electron rocket from New Zealand on June 30, 2026, at 9 p.m. EDT. The satellite, nicknamed Mikura-I, is the eighth of 15 satellites that Rocket Lab will deploy for iQPS's planned 36-satellite constellation designed to study Earth using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology. The spacecraft will be deployed into a circular orbit 357 miles above Earth approximately 50 minutes after liftoff, where it will conduct high-resolution imaging capable of penetrating clouds and operating both day and night.
Why it matters
SAR satellite constellations provide continuous, all-weather Earth observation capabilities crucial for disaster monitoring, environmental tracking, and resource management. This launch represents progress toward completing a commercial radar imaging constellation that can deliver real-time global coverage regardless of weather conditions or time of day.
Understand the Science
Rocket Lab will launch a Japanese Earth-observing radar satellite to orbit tonight (June 30), and you can watch the action live.
An Electron rocket carrying the QPS-SAR-13 satellite is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab‘s New Zealand site tonight at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT and 1 p.m. local New Zealand time on July 1).
You can watch the launch live here at Space.com courtesy of Rocket Lab, or directly via the company. Coverage will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff.
Japan-based iQPS is building a constellation of 36 satellites in low Earth orbit that study Earth using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR). SAR spacecraft can peer through clouds and gather data at night as well as during the day.
Tonight’s launch, which Rocket Lab calls “The Grain Goddess Provides,” will be the eighth, out of a total of 15, that it will perform to assemble iQPS’ constellation.
If all goes according to plan tonight, Electron will deploy the iQPS satellite — which is nicknamed Mikura-I, after a Japanese goddess associated with abundance and prosperity — about 50 minutes after liftoff, into a circular orbit 357 miles (575 kilometers) above Earth.
“The Grain Goddess Provides” will be Rocket Lab’s 92nd mission to date and its 13th of 2026 already. The vast majority of these launches have involved the 59-foot-tall (18-meter-tall) Electron, which gives small satellites dedicated rides to orbit. A small number have been performed by HASTE , a suborbital version of Electron that helps customers test hypersonic technologies.
Tonight’s launch will come just a day after Rocket Lab made a big business move: On Monday (June 29), Rocket Lab announced that it’s acquiring the communications company Iridium for $8 billion.
“By combining our launch capability and satellite manufacturing with @IridiumComm’s global satellite communications network and rare spectrum, Rocket Lab becomes a fully integrated, self-launching, tier-1 space power, delivering critical communications capability to millions of users worldwide,” Rocket Lab said via X on Monday.
Source: Watch Rocket Lab launch Japanese Earth-observing radar satellite from New Zealand tonight