Rocket Lab begins 21-mission campaign for Synspective with successful Electron launch

Written by Copernical Team Wednesday, 15 October 2025 04:15

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Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 15, 2025

Rocket Lab has launched the first of 21 planned Electron missions for Japanese radar imaging company Synspective, successfully deploying the StriX-3 satellite to low Earth orbit on October 14. The mission, named "Owl New World," lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, at 16:33 UTC. The launch marked Rocket Lab's 15th mission of the year and its seventh for Synspective since

Rocket Lab begins 21-mission campaign for Synspective with successful Electron launch
by Simon Mansfield
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 15, 2025

Rocket Lab has launched the first of 21 planned Electron missions for Japanese radar imaging company Synspective, successfully deploying the StriX-3 satellite to low Earth orbit on October 14. The mission, named "Owl New World," lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, at 16:33 UTC.

The launch marked Rocket Lab's 15th mission of the year and its seventh for Synspective since 2020. The StriX-3 satellite joins Synspective's growing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) constellation, which provides high-resolution Earth-observation data for applications such as infrastructure monitoring, disaster response, and environmental analysis.

Rocket Lab will deliver a total of 27 Synspective satellites, with 21 more dedicated missions scheduled before the decade's end. The Japanese company continues to expand its SAR network to achieve global, near-real-time imaging capabilities regardless of weather or daylight conditions.

"Another Electron launch for Synspective with 100% mission success, and a fantastic start to an exciting run of upcoming launches to deploy their constellation," said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck. "Precise, direct access to orbit is essential to the iteration and growth of constellations already in space, and I'm proud of the Rocket Lab team for delivering this again and again for Synspective across every launch."

Synspective founder and CEO Dr. Motoyuki Arai added: "I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the team at Rocket Lab for safely and successfully carrying out this mission, as well as to all the members of Synspective who made this achievement possible. Moving forward, we will continue to leverage our satellite and data analytics technologies to address global challenges, such as security, disaster management, and environmental sustainability, thereby contributing to the creation of a more resilient and sustainable future."

Rocket Lab expects to exceed its 2024 record of 16 annual launches, targeting more than 20 flights this year. Upcoming missions include payloads for commercial constellation operators and international space agencies.