Rocket Lab Closes Record-Breaking Year With Successful Electron Launch Written 22 December 2025
In This Section
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket launch from January 2020. | Credit: Scott Andrews; Wikipedia; Public Domain
Space News reports, “Rocket Lab successfully launched a Japanese radar imaging satellite Dec. 21 in the final flight of a record-setting year for the company. An Electron rocket lifted off at 1:36 a.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The rocket deployed its payload, the QPS-SAR-15 satellite for Japanese company iQPS, into a 575-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 42 degrees about 50 minutes later. The satellite later made contact with controllers, iQPS said.”
Full Story (Space News – Subscription Publication)