Rocket Lab launched the 13th iQPS Yachihoko-I satellite into orbit
On November 5, Rocket Lab launched the QPS-SAR-14 satellite for the Japanese company iQPS. The mission titled "The Nation God Navigates" took off from a coastal spaceport in New Zealand at 2:51 PM Eastern Time. Approximately 50 minutes later, the satellite was placed into a circular orbit with an altitude of 575 km.
What is known
Yachihoko-I became the 13th iQPS satellite to reach orbit (not the 14th, as the name might suggest). Seven of these satellite group devices were previously launched by rockets not part of the Electron series: India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, Japan's Epsilon, and SpaceX's Falcon 9.
iQPS plans to create a constellation of 36 SAR satellites to provide Earth surface images updated every 10 minutes. The goal is to cover as much of the planet as possible with high frequency.
The name Yachihoko-I comes from a Japanese deity associated with state-building. This symbolism is also reflected in the mission name "The Nation God Navigates". Today's launch was the 16th for Rocket Lab in 2025 and the 74th in the company's history. Rocket Lab's primary carrier is the 18-meter-tall Electron rocket. The company also operates a suborbital version of this rocket, HASTE, which has completed five flights since June 2023.
Source: Space.com
