Launches / Electron

Past launch Launched successfully

The Grain Goddess Provides (iQPS Launch 7)

Electron, flown by Rocket Lab

Electron lifting off with the The Grain Goddess Provides (iQPS Launch 7) mission
Image via The Space Devs.

This was Rocket Lab's 13th launch of 2026, and its 92nd in all.

Counting every operator, it was the 186th orbital launch attempt anywhere in 2026, and the seventh from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A.

Launched
Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, 9:18 a.m. UTC
Window
Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, 9:00 to 9:18 a.m. UTC
Launch site
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Rocket
Electron
Operator
Rocket Lab

Watch the webcast →

The mission

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.

Type
Earth science
Destination
Low Earth orbit

The rocket

Electron is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle (with an optional third stage) developed by the American aerospace company Rocket Lab. Electron is a small-lift launch vehicle designed to launch small satellites and cubesats to sun-synchronous orbit and low earth orbit. The Electron is the first orbital class rocket to use electric-pump-fed engines, powered by the 9 Rutherford engines on the first stage. It is also used as a suborbital testbed (called HASTE) for hypersonics research.

Height
18 m
Built by
Rocket Lab
First flew
May 25, 2017
Lifts to low Earth orbit
300 kg
View 4 specifications Show less
Diameter
1.2 m
Mass at liftoff
13 t
Thrust at liftoff
162 kN
Stages
2 to 3

93 flights, 89 of them successful. 7 boosters brought back from 9 attempts.

rocketlabusa.com → Wikipedia →

The operator

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is an American aerospace manufacturer with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. The company develops lightweight, cost-effective commercial rocket launch services. The Electron Program was founded on the premise that small payloads such as CubeSats require dedicated small launch vehicles and flexibility not currently offered by traditional rocket systems. Its rocket, the Electron, is a light-weight rocket and is now operating commercially. The company is also producing a variety of spacecrafts and spacecrafts components.

Sector
Commercial
Based in
USA
Founded
2006
Run by
Peter Beck, CEO

93 launches so far, 89 of them successful. The last 52 in a row went to plan.

rocketlabcorp.com → Wikipedia →

The launch site

It went up from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.

See the pad on a map →

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