Rocket Lab launches JAXA tech demo satellite

WASHINGTON — A Rocket Lab Electron rocket successfully launched a technology demonstration satellite for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on Dec. 13 as the company reshuffles its launch manifest.

The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 10:09 p.m. Eastern. The payload, JAXA’s Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite-4, or RAISE-4, was deployed into a 540-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit nearly 55 minutes later.

The 110-kilogram RAISE-4 carries eight payloads to test advanced technologies, ranging from propulsion and communications to a drag sail designed to aid deorbiting. The satellite was originally slated to launch on Japan’s Epsilon-S rocket, but that vehicle has been grounded since a launch failure in 2022. Its return to flight has been delayed further by failures of upgraded solid rocket motors during ground tests.

Rocket Lab said in October it signed a contract with JAXA for two Electron launches: one for RAISE-4 and another for a set of eight cubesats that will also test advanced technologies. Those cubesats were originally planned to fly with RAISE-4 on a single Epsilon-S but will now launch on a separate Electron in early 2026.

“This dedicated mission delivered precision and reliability for one of the world’s most respected space agencies, and we couldn’t be prouder of supporting JAXA with the dedicated access to space needed to support the growth of Japan’s aerospace economy,” Rocket Lab Chief Executive Peter Beck said in a statement after the launch.

The mission, called “RAISE And Shine” by Rocket Lab, took place as the company reordered its manifest of upcoming Electron launches. The launch was originally scheduled for Dec. 4 (U.S. time) but was delayed several days because of weather and additional prelaunch checks.

While the JAXA mission slipped, Rocket Lab announced Dec. 9 that another Electron launch would move ahead of it. That mission, called “Bridging the Swarm,” is intended to place NEONSAT-1A, an Earth observation satellite for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, into orbit. Rocket Lab scrubbed a Dec. 10 launch attempt, however, citing the need to assess sensor data.

In its statement about the JAXA launch, Rocket Lab did not provide a new launch date for NEONSAT-1A. Instead, the company said the next Electron launch is planned from Launch Complex 2 at Wallops Island, Virginia, without disclosing additional details.

That mission is likely STP-S30 for the Defense Department’s Space Test Program and would include the first flight of a DiskSat, a disk-shaped small satellite developed by the Aerospace Corporation. Navigational warnings are in place for an Electron launch there between Dec. 18 and 23.

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