The Moon God Awakens

Welcome everyone! This mission marks Electron’s return to flight after the failed launch of Acadia Mission 2 (We Will Never Desert You).

Scheduled for UTC 2023-12-15 04:00
Scheduled for (local) 2023-12-15 17:00 (NZDT)
Launch site LC-1B, Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand.
Launch vehicle Electron
Customer iQPS
Payload QPS-SAR-5 synthetic-aperture radar satellite
Mission success criteria Successful deployment of QPS-SAR-5 into desired orbit

Livestreams

Stream Link
Rocket Lab https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLwTLqaCnQ8
Everyday Astronaut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_IR2VR_3co
The Launch Pad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9Jd5DxDr6w
Space Affairs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IhrmgiROXI

Stats

  • This will be the 10th launch for Rocket Lab this year.
  • This will be the 42nd launch for Rocket Lab.

Payload info:

NextSpaceflight:

QPS-SAR-5 is a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite that will join a constellation after QPS-SAR-6 already in orbit. iQPS’s satellites are small, high-performance SAR satellites that use a lightweight, large, stowable antenna to collect high resolution images of Earth, even through clouds and adverse weather conditions. Ultimately, the iQPS constellation is planned to have 36 satellites capable of monitoring specific fixed points on Earth every 10 minutes.

Target orbit Low Earth Orbit
Total Mass 100 kg

Previous mission (We Will Never Desert You) | Next mission (Four Of A Kind)

Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here! Also feel free to leave feedback or suggestions for the mod team. We’re still a relatively small sub, so feedback from the community is very valuable!