The 13th Electron launch of 2026 lifted off from New Zealand, extending Rocket Lab's eight-for-eight record for iQPS and leaving 10 more dedicated constellation missions booked before 2030.
Rocket Lab said it successfully launched the QPS-SAR-13 satellite for Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc., or iQPS, on its 92nd Electron mission and 13th Electron flight of 2026. The Grain Goddess Provides lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 9:18 p.m. NZST on Aug. 6, 2026, deploying the latest addition to iQPS's synthetic aperture radar constellation, which is designed to deliver near-real-time Earth imagery across twelve different orbits. The mission was Rocket Lab's eighth QPS-SAR deployment with a 100% success rate, and the company said Electron remains iQPS's primary launch provider with another 10 dedicated launches booked before 2030. Rocket Lab added that its next Electron mission, The Lightning God Defends, is scheduled for later this month from LC-1 with another QPS-SAR satellite.