An Electron lifts off Aug. 20 carrying an iQPS satellite. Credit: Rocket Lab
WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab launched another satellite for Japanese radar-imaging company iQPS on Aug. 20.
An Electron rocket lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 9:04 a.m. Eastern on a mission called “The Lightning God Defends” by Rocket Lab. The launch targeted an orbit at an altitude of 575 kilometers and an inclination of 42 degrees.
The vehicle’s payload, the QPS-SAR-18 satellite built by the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, or iQPS, separated from the rocket’s kick stage about 50 minutes later. iQPS said it established contact with the satellite 40 minutes after deployment and confirmed it was operating properly.
This was the ninth Electron launch for iQPS overall and the second consecutive mission for the company. Another Electron launched an iQPS satellite Aug. 6.
