Rocket Lab wins contract for three more iQPS launches

WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab has won a contract from Japanese radar satellite company iQPS for three additional Electron launches.

Rocket Lab announced April 9 it signed a contract with iQPS, or Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, for three Electron launches from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand starting in 2028. The companies did not disclose terms of the contract.

Rocket Lab has launched seven missions for iQPS starting in 2023, with five additional launches already on order before this latest contract. Three of those upcoming launches were ordered in October. The most recent Electron launch for iQPS was in December.

“Our expanded partnership with iQPS is built on our consistent execution across the many missions we’ve launched for them already, and we’re proud to continue delivering their Earth imaging constellation to space as we deepen our role as their primary launch provider,” Brian Rogers, vice president of global launch services at Rocket Lab, said in a statement.

Each Electron launch carries a single iQPS spacecraft as the company builds out its constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites. The firm has a goal of placing 24 satellites into orbit by 2028 and 36 by 2030 to provide radar imaging with frequent revisit times. The company has relied primarily on Electron for launching those satellites, although a few have launched on SpaceX rideshare missions.

The next iQPS satellite launch on Electron is scheduled for May, both Rocket Lab and iQPS announced.