Rocket Lab’s 51st mission goes into space from Mahia

The 51st Electron launch by Rocket Lab went into space early on Saturday morning from the Mahia launch site, and successfully deployed a satellite for Earth-imaging company Synspective.

Rocket Lab successfully launched its 51st Electron rocket from Mahia on Saturday morning - deploying a single satellite to low Earth orbit for Synspective, a Japanese Earth-imaging company.

The mission, named Owl For One – One For Owl, went into space at 4.30am from Launch Complex One on Onenui Station at Mahia.

The mission deployed the fifth of Synspective’s StriX SAR-imaging satellites.

In addition to the launch service, Rocket Lab provided a custom Electron fairing to encapsulate the StriX satellite and also performed an advanced mid-mission manoeuvre with Electron’s kick stage to shield the satellite from the sun and reduce radiation exposure on its way to orbit.

Rocket Lab has been the sole launch provider for Synspective’s constellation to date.

This mission was the fifth of 16 launches booked on Electron for Synspective and the second launch for the Japanese company this year after the Owl Night Long mission was launched in March.

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