Rocket Lab will launch a dedicated mission for the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS), a Japan-based Earth imaging company on Friday, March 14, 5:00PM – 7:00 PM PDT. Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS) is a pioneering space startup founded in 2005 by two Emeritus Professors from Kyushu University and a rocket developer with the mission of establishing a space industry in Japan’s Kyushu region.
“The Lightning God Reigns” will launch from Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch site, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, in New Zealand.
iQPS team when first contact was established with their
QPS-SAR-5 satellite (TSUKUYOMI-I)
The mission will launch a single synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellite to a 575km circular Earth orbit for iQPS called QPS-SAR-9 (nicknamed “SUSANOO-I”). The spacecraft will join iQPS’ growing Earth-imaging constellation that delivers high-resolution monitoring from specific locations every 10 minutes.
‘The Lightning God Reigns’ is the first of eight upcoming launches for iQPS across 2025 and 2026 to build out iQPS‘s constellation, and follows the Company’s earlier successful mission for iQPS launched in December 2023. Each upcoming mission includes a Rocket Lab Motorized Lightband, used to separate and deploy the satellite from Electron once in space.