Blastoff! Rocket Lab launches Japanese Earth-observation satellite

7 weeks ago

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched the QPS-SAR-14 satellite, nicknamed Yachihoko-I, from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site on Nov. 5, 2025 at 2:51 p.m. EST (1951 GMT; 8:51 a.m. on Nov. 6. local New Zealand time).

Transcript

00:0010, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Ignition.

00:1310, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Ignition.

00:3011, 8, 7, 8, 8, 9, 8, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10.

00:44Stage one, propulsion nominal.

00:49Electron has cleared the launch pad and the nation god is on its way to space for IQPS.

00:55Velocity is quickly climbing at more than 800 kilometers an hour,

01:00and counting with Electron just past five kilometres above LC1 right now.

01:06The first thing we want to listen out for from Mission Control

01:08is the call for max Q, or maximum aerodynamic pressure.

01:12It's that moment during ascent when Electron's increasing speed

01:16meets decreased air density

01:17to cause the maximum amount of stress against the vehicle.

01:21Let's listen in.

01:30Nice clean sailing through max Q for Electron there.

01:37The vehicle speed is climbing nicely past 2,500 kilometres an hour,

01:42now at one and a half minutes into the mission.

01:45Next up after max Q will be MECO, or Main Engine Cut-Off,

01:50which is the command to shut down Electron's nine Rutherford engines on the first stage.

01:55Once this happens, the first and second stages of the rocket will separate,

01:59and the single remaining Rutherford engine on the second stage

02:03will fire up to fuel the rest of the nation guard's ride to orbit.

02:07We should be able to check out both stages during that separation event,

02:11so keep an eye out for that milestone as it occurs.

02:14Stage one propulsion holding nominal.

02:16Standby for MECO in approximately 30 seconds.

02:1815 seconds to staging.

02:31Enter it, burn out attack mode.

02:45MECO confirmed.

02:46And that's confirmation the stages have cleanly separated,

03:08and our vacuum-optimised Rutherford engine on the second stage

03:11has fired up to continue the mission to orbit.

03:14Electrons moving now at more than 7,900 kilometres per hour

03:20are past 100 kilometres in altitude.

03:23Next up will be fairing separation from this second stage.

03:27This will mark the first time QPS SAR-14

03:30has been exposed to the vacuum of space.

03:33We might be able to see those two fairing halves split

03:36and fall away from the onboard camera view.

03:38Let's watch out for that now.

03:48Fairing jettison confirmed.

03:52HVU, discharge, hold it now.

03:54And there they go, fairing jettison confirmed for Electron.

04:01And there on your screen is the QPS SAR-14 satellite

04:04ahead of payload deployment.

04:06Some things you'll hear from Mission Control shortly

04:25will be HV battery discharge nominal

04:27and approaching hot swap,

04:29both of which are call-outs related to the batteries

04:32powering the Rutherford engine on Electron's second stage.

04:36These batteries are essential for driving the electric pumps

04:39that supply fuel and oxidiser to the engine.

04:41Yep, but like most batteries, their energy eventually runs out.

04:46And since the second stage burn lasts longer than the capacity

04:49of the initial set of batteries,

04:51Electron executes a critical manoeuvre called the hot swap.

04:55During this process, the rocket switches to a fresh set of batteries

04:58while the engine continues firing

05:00and gets rid of the depleted ones.

05:02This action is a key milestone in the second stage's path to orbit.

05:07Let's watch and listen.

05:08Let's watch and listen.

05:09Let's watch and listen.

05:10Let's watch and listen.

05:11Let's watch and listen.

05:12Let's watch and listen.

05:13Let's watch and listen.

05:14Let's watch and listen.

05:15Let's watch and listen.

05:16Let's watch and listen.

05:17Let's watch and listen.

05:18Let's watch and listen.

05:19Let's watch and listen.

05:20Let's watch and listen.

05:21Let's watch and listen.

05:22Let's watch and listen.

05:23Let's watch and listen.

05:24Let's watch and listen.

05:25Let's watch and listen.

05:26Let's watch and listen.

05:27Let's watch and listen.

05:28Let's watch and listen.

05:29Let's watch and listen.

05:30Let's watch and listen.

05:31Let's watch and listen.

05:32Let's watch and listen.

05:33Guidance is nominal, 200 seconds remaining.

06:03HVV discharge holding nominal, approaching hotspot in roughly 30 seconds.

06:31Rutherford is firing hot and nominally after that action, exactly as expected.

06:58The mission has a bit further to go beyond Earth before we reach our next staging event ahead

07:03of our 575 kilometre target orbit.

07:14HVV discharge holding nominal, and AFTS has saved.

07:29We have a few more minutes left in this second stage engine burn before Electron reaches its

07:34nominal transfer orbit and separates the kickstage with the QPS SAR-14 satellite.

07:41Because the kickstage is released in an elliptical pattern, a transfer orbit will bring the kickstage

07:46to the altitude of its planned 575 kilometre circular orbit.

07:52That journey takes about 40 minutes or so from the moment the kickstage is separated from the

07:56second stage.

07:58Once the kickstage reaches its target, its own engine will light up to perform additional

08:03manoeuvres to circularise its altitude before deploying Yachi-hoko-1 to join the rest of IQPS's constellation.

08:10Right, so we're coming up now on our final staging event before payload deployment.

08:28It's a process very similar to MECO, which we completed with the first stage just a few

08:34minutes ago, but this time we have CECO for second engine cutoff of that vacuum Rutherford

08:40engine you see on your screen over there.

08:42We should see it shut down in preparation for the second stage to release the kickstage and

08:47send the nation guard on its way to orbit.

08:50Standing by with Mission Control now.

08:58CECO confirmed.

09:20Stage separation confirmed.

09:21Great news.

09:22That is CECO confirmed on the second stage and a successful deployment of the kickstage to

09:27its nominal transfer orbit.

Blastoff! Rocket Lab launches Japanese Earth-observation satellite

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