Rocket Lab announced on November 12, 2026, that its Electron rocket is scheduled to make its 100th flight on November 14, carrying a Japanese Earth-observation satellite from New Zealand. The mission, called “The Mountain God Rises,” is targeting liftoff at 6:30 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, equivalent to 05:30 UTC and 12:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 14. The launch will take place at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula.
The mission will carry one radar-imaging satellite for the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, known as iQPS. Rocket Lab plans to place it in a low Earth orbit 575 kilometers above the planet, inclined 42 degrees to the equator. The official mission schedule lists November 14 as a no-earlier-than launch date. With 99 Electron flights completed, the milestone remains a scheduled event rather than a completed launch.
A Radar Satellite for iQPS
The payload is QPS-SAR-19, named “YAMATSUMI-II,” a spacecraft built by Japan’s iQPS for its expanding Earth-imaging constellation. iQPS identified the satellite in an October 13 announcement, subsequently updated on November 3. The spacecraft is one of a series designed to observe the Earth using synthetic aperture radar, or SAR.
Unlike an ordinary camera, synthetic aperture radar transmits radio waves toward the surface and measures the signals reflected back to the satellite. Radar observations can be collected at night and through cloud cover, making them useful for tracking activity on land and at sea even when optical imaging is restricted by weather or daylight. New Space Economy’s guide to commercial radar satellites explains the technology and its applications.
iQPS uses a large, lightweight antenna that folds for launch and deploys after the satellite reaches orbit. The company says this design enables its small spacecraft to produce high-resolution radar images. It is building a network of satellites to increase how often specific locations can be observed, rather than relying on a single spacecraft to revisit each area.
The planned 42-degree orbital inclination is part of that service design. Inclination describes the angle between a satellite’s orbital plane and Earth’s equator. The orbit selected for recent iQPS flights is intended to support frequent observations across the Asia-Pacific region. iQPS has stated a goal of operating 24 satellites by May 2028 and expanding the constellation through 2030, with an eventual average observation interval of approximately 10 minutes for selected areas. Those figures are company targets, not an achieved constellation-wide service interval.
The Flight Before the Milestone
Electron’s previous mission, “The Sea God Surveys,” launched on November 3, 2026, from the same New Zealand complex. It delivered QPS-SAR-20, named “WADATSUMI-II,” to a 575-kilometer orbit. That mission was Electron’s 99th flight and Rocket Lab’s 20th Electron launch of 2026. iQPS subsequently confirmed successful communications and antenna deployment. New Space Economy reported the 99th flight following the launch.
The satellite numbers reflect iQPS’s program identifiers, not the order in which these two spacecraft were launched. QPS-SAR-20 flew first, followed on the manifest by QPS-SAR-19. “The Mountain God Rises” will be Rocket Lab’s 11th dedicated Electron mission for iQPS if it proceeds as planned. Following the 99th launch, Rocket Lab said it had eight further dedicated Electron launches booked with the Japanese operator through 2030, including upcoming missions.
iQPS initially listed November 10 as the earliest launch date for QPS-SAR-19. On November 3, it changed that target to no earlier than November 14. Rocket Lab’s November 12 announcement then confirmed the 6:30 p.m. local launch target and formally presented the flight as Electron’s approaching 100th mission.
How Electron Will Deliver the Spacecraft
Electron is an 18-meter-tall, two-stage rocket built mainly from carbon-composite materials. Rocket Lab lists Electron’s payload capacity to low Earth orbit at up to 300 kilograms. The first stage uses nine Rutherford engines, and the second stage uses one engine configured to operate in space. Both stages burn liquid oxygen and kerosene.
Rutherford engines use electrically driven pumps to feed propellant into their combustion chambers. Conventional liquid-fueled rocket engines often drive those pumps with turbines powered by hot gas. Rocket Lab also manufactures major Rutherford engine components using three-dimensional printing. The company identifies these design choices as distinguishing features of Electron’s development.
A separate kick stage provides the final orbital placement. After Electron’s main stages accelerate the payload toward space, the kick stage can adjust the spacecraft’s path before releasing it into its assigned orbit. Rocket Lab’s published timeline for “The Mountain God Rises” schedules first-stage separation about two and a half minutes after liftoff, kick-stage engine ignition approximately 46 minutes after liftoff, and satellite deployment roughly 50 minutes after liftoff.
Electron began flying in 2017 and achieved its first successful orbital deployment in January 2018. Rocket Lab operates launch infrastructure in New Zealand and at Wallops Island, Virginia, giving the company launch locations in both hemispheres. In its November 12 announcement, Rocket Lab described Electron as on track to become the fastest commercially developed rocket to reach 100 launches. That record claim is the company’s characterization of the milestone, which is contingent on the scheduled flight taking place.
New Space Economy’s Rocket Lab profile provides additional detail on Electron operations and the company’s separate Neutron rocket program. For the November 14 mission, the immediate objective is to deploy YAMATSUMI-II into its assigned 575-kilometer orbit. Rocket Lab plans to stream the launch through its official YouTube channel.
