Sky full of Sars: Rocket Lab’s successful Mahia launch for company’s fifth Capella mission

Jeff Ng captured the "Sky Full of SARS" spectacle from Wellington. Photo / Jeff Ng

Rocket Lab can add yet another successful mission to its list, lighting up the East Coast in fine form with its 52nd Electron rocket launch early on Monday morning.

During the mission, a single satellite was sent to low Earth orbit for Capella Space, an American space company with satellite and declassified SAR data solutions for government and commercial use.

The mission, named “A Sky Full of Sars” in a nod to the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capabilities of Capella’s spacecraft, lifted off at 1.18am from Launch Complex 1, Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch site on the Mahia Peninsula.

Photographer Angus Bodle captured the majesty of "A Sky Full of SARS" from Sponge Bay in Gisborne. Photo / Angus Bodle

People from as far away as Wellington stayed up late to capture the spectacle, with photos on social media showing the rocket stream among the stars.

“I’m proud of the team for delivering this latest successful mission for Capella and for successfully delivering nine missions so far this year as Electron’s launch cadence continues to ramp up,” Rocket Lab founder Sir Peter Beck said.

In addition to the launch service, Rocket Lab said it provided a custom extended fairing on Electron to encompass the payload before Capella’s satellite was deployed to space from a Rocket Lab-produced separation system.

“Electron is a reliable constellation builder, providing precise and dedicated deployment to unique orbits that allows satellite operators like Capella to iteratively build out their constellation when and where they need to,” Beck said.

The mission was the fifth launch for Capella since Capella’s first mission on Electron in August 2020. That mission, called “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical”, launched from Launch Complex 1 to deploy the first satellite in Capella’s SAR constellation.

The launch window for Rocket Lab’s next Electron mission will be announced in the coming days.

Most recently, Rocket Lab announced a record 10-launch contract with Japanese Earth observation company Synspective, with another two launches in addition to that contract already booked and scheduled for launch on Electron this year.

Other satellite operators expected to launch this year under existing multi-launch contracts with Rocket Lab include space-based intelligence company BlackSky and French Internet-of-Things company Kineis.

“With many more missions scheduled in the coming weeks and months, we look forward to delivering our busiest launch year yet in 2024,” Beck said.