Rocket Lab successfully launched a Japanese technology satellite on Saturday, December 13.
The Electron rocket, which is 17 meters tall, launched the ‘RAISE and Shine’ mission on December 14 from Rocket Lab’s site in New Zealand.
This was the first flight of the “RAISE and Shine” mission
“RAISE and Shine” is the first flight that Rocket Lab has contracted directly with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
According to ROOMThe deal is based on two flights: one for the special launch for the Japanese space agency, and the second is a ride launch planned for early next year.
There is a long history of California-based companies with Japan, launching more than two dozen missions for companies in the Land of the Rising Sun.
In the recent launch, the Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite-4 (RAISE-4) was deployed into a circular orbit 336 miles above Earth, where it was positioned approximately 54.5 minutes after launch.
The ‘RAISE and Shine’ mission set a new annual launch record of the year for Rocket Lab, which now has 19 missions launched by 2025.
The other three were suborbital flights using HASTE, a modified version of the Electron designed to test customers’ hypersonic technologies at the edge of space.
The recent successful launch extends the company’s annual launch record and underlines the reliability and high demand for the Electron rocket among global government agencies.
