Rocket Lab successfully launched an Earth-observation satellite for Japanese space technology company iQPS early Saturday morning, marking another step in the expansion of a rapidly growing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation.
Rocket Lab Electron launcher carrying iQPS’ QPS-SAR-10, a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Earth-imaging satellite, lifted off from Mahia, New Zealand on May 17, 2025. Image credit: Rocket Lab
The mission, dubbed "The Sea God Sees," lifted off at 4:17 a.m. EDT (0817 GMT, 8:17 p.m. local time) from Rocket Lab’s launch complex on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. The flight was the sixth of the year and the 64th overall for Rocket Lab’s 18-meter (59-foot) Electron rocket.
The payload, a SAR satellite named Wadatsumi-I, was deployed into a 575-kilometer-high (357-mile) circular orbit approximately 50.5 minutes after liftoff. Named after Wadatsumi, a deity of the sea in Japanese mythology, the satellite is designed to deliver round-the-clock Earth imagery, unaffected by weather or darkness.
Wadatsumi-I joins iQPS’s expanding fleet of radar satellites. So far, nine QPS-SAR satellites have been launched, and the company aims to establish a full 36-satellite constellation. According to Rocket Lab, this network will enable a “Near Real-Time Data Provisioning Service,” offering imagery of specific locations worldwide every 10 minutes on average.
Such high-frequency coverage will allow users to monitor not only fixed features like land, infrastructure, and buildings, but also dynamic and mobile objects, including vehicles, ships, and even livestock. The goal is to create a comprehensive, constantly updating stream of radar imagery with applications ranging from agriculture and disaster response to logistics and defense.
The mission was Rocket Lab’s third launch for iQPS, and the second of eight launches planned through 2025 and 2026 to deploy the remainder of the Japanese firm’s SAR satellite network.
With the successful deployment of Wadatsumi-I, Rocket Lab continues to play a key role in advancing commercial Earth observation capabilities and strengthening partnerships across the global space sector.
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