🚀 Electron | 🛰 The Sea God Sees (QPS-SAR-10/WADATSUMI-I)
Launch date: May 17, 2025 08:17 UTC
Payload: The Sea God Sees (QPS-SAR-10/WADATSUMI-I)
Location: Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, New Zealand
Vehicle: Electron
Rocket Lab successfully launched the ‘The Sea God Sees’ mission, deploying iQPS’s QPS-SAR-10 (WADATSUMI-I/Wadatsumi-I) synthetic aperture radar satellite into a 575-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit on May 17, 2025, at 08:17 UTC. This was the 10th satellite for the Japanese iQPS SAR constellation, supporting high-resolution, day-or-night, all-weather global Earth monitoring. The launch is part of at least eight contracted Electron launches for iQPS through 2025 and 2026, bringing the company closer to a 36-satellite constellation for near real-time Earth observation. The mission marked Rocket Lab’s sixth mission of 2025, its 64th Electron flight, and the third Electron mission for iQPS. The event was webcast live and widely covered in space media.
LC-1B, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Launch Complex 1B (LC-1B) is the second pad at Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1, located on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. Built to supplement the original LC-1A pad, LC-1B allows Rocket Lab to conduct more frequent and flexible launches of its Electron rocket, supporting diverse payloads for commercial, scientific, and government customers.
LC-1B, like its adjacent counterpart, is part of Rocket Lab’s effort to provide rapid and reliable access to orbit from a private facility. Its addition has increased the launch cadence and operational redundancy at the site, further cementing Mahia Peninsula as a significant hub for commercial space launches in the Southern Hemisphere.