Recommended reading

Rocket Lab launches private Japanese Earth-observing satellite

News
By last updated

Liftoff of "The Sea God Sees" mission occurred at 4:17 a.m. ET on Saturday (May 17).

a white and black rocket lifts off into the black sky of night
A 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)

Rocket Lab launched an Earth-observing satellite for the Japanese company iQPS early Saturday morning (May 17).

An Electron rocket lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site on Saturday at 4:17 a.m. EDT (0817 GMT; 8:17 p.m. local New Zealand time).

telephoto shot of the plume coming from multiple rocket engines as a rocket launches

Nine Rutherford engines fire at the base of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket as it lifts off into the night sky with a Japanese Earth-observing satellite on May 17, 2025. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)

Rocket Lab called the mission "The Sea God Sees." That was a reference to the satellite going up, which iQPS nicknamed Wadatsumi-I after a water deity in Japanese mythology.

Wadatsumi-I is a synthetic aperature radar (SAR) satellite, so it will be able to image Earth at all times of day and through cloud cover. The Electron deployed the spacecraft into a 357-mile-high (575-kilometer-high) circular orbit 50.5 minutes after liftoff. The craft then joined iQPS' growing SAR constellation.

"To date, nine QPS-SAR satellites have been launched, and iQPS aims to establish a constellation of 36 satellites," Rocket Lab wrote in the mission's press kit, which you can find here.

"This will enable the delivery of a 'NearReal-Time Data Provisioning Service,' allowing for the observation of specific regions worldwide at an average interval of 10 minutes," the company added. "This will make it possible to collect continuous images as data, and to accumulate data not only on 'Stationary Objects' such as land and buildings, but also on 'Moving Objects' such as vehicles, ships, and cattle and livestock."

circular space mission patch showing a rocket flying over waves, with the words "rocket lab," "the sea god sees" and "iqps" around the outside

Patch for Rocket Lab's "The Sea God Sees" mission, which is scheduled to launch on May 17, 2025. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)
Related stories:

— Rocket Lab launches new NASA solar sail tech to orbit (video, photos)

— Rocket Lab launches private Earth-observing radar satellite to orbit (video, photos)

— Rocket Lab launches 5 'Internet of Things' satellites to orbit (video)

"The Sea God Sees" was the sixth mission of 2025 and 64th overall flight for the 59-foot-tall (18-meter-tall) Electron.

It was the third Electron launch for iQPS and the second of eight planned missions across 2025 and 2026 to build out the company's Earth-observing network, according to Rocket Lab.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.