Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket successfully deploys five Kineis satellites to orbit

Rocket Lab's 11am launch from Mahia was aborted at the last second on Thursday morning. Still / Rocket Lab livestream

Rocket Lab successfully launched its 53rd Electron mission and deployed five satellites to orbit for French company Kineis.

The “Kineis Killed the RadIOT Star” lifted off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand at 11.01am on Saturday, after a last-second launch abort two days earlier.

The mission, successfully deploying five satellites to a 643km orbit, was the second of five dedicated Electron launches for Kineis, a company backed by private and public investors including the French Government’s space agency CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales) and CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites), an international space-based solutions provider, to improve global internet connectivity.

The Kineis constellation is designed to make it possible to connect and locate any connected object anywhere in the world, enabling data transmission to users in near-real-time, at low bitrates and with very low energy consumption.

By enabling internet connection to the Earth’s most remote locations, Kineis constellation can support forest fire detection, water resource management, infrastructure and energy network monitoring, transport and logistics tracking, and much more.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck said the launch marks another milestone for Rocket Lab.

Rocket Lab's Electron takes to the skies for its 53rd launch out of Māhia, NZ for return French internet-of-things customer Kineis. Photo / Rocket Lab

“With each mission, we are bringing the world closer together, allowing vital data to be transmitted from the remotest corners of the Earth.”

Across 53 launches, Rocket Lab has now deployed 197 satellites for a diverse range of customers and missions, including Nasa missions to the Moon, the National Reconnaissance Office and Space Force missions supporting national security and defence, scientific research to combat climate change, and commercial constellations providing vital data and services to millions of people on Earth.