Rocket Lab to Launch Japanese Radar Satellite for Synspective

Rocket Lab is scheduled to launch an Electron rocket carrying a radar-imaging satellite for the Japanese company Synspective, lifting off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand launch site in a window opening at 7:30 a.m. EDT on Sept. 1, 2026. The rocket will carry a single Strix satellite, named after a genus of owl, for the Tokyo-based Earth-imaging company.

Synspective is building a constellation of about 30 Strix satellites in low Earth orbit. The satellites use synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, a technique that can image the ground both day and night and through cloud cover, unlike ordinary cameras that need daylight and clear skies. Synspective says the constellation is meant to quickly confirm on-the-ground changes during disasters such as earthquakes and floods, including at night and in hard-to-reach areas, and to monitor natural resources and urban development.

Ten Strix satellites have already reached orbit, all launched aboard Electron rockets. Rocket Lab is currently the sole launch provider for Synspective and has 16 more missions for the company on its manifest after this one. In this launch, the Electron's upper "kick stage" is set to deploy the Strix satellite 56 minutes after liftoff, at an altitude of 357 miles (575 kilometers).

The 59-foot-tall (18-meter) Electron rocket is designed to give small satellites dedicated rides to Earth orbit. The mission, which Rocket Lab calls "Owl Around the World," will be the rocket's 12th launch of 2026 and its 85th overall since Electron's debut in 2017.