Rocket Lab Launches Third Mission For Japan's iQPS

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. RKLB on Saturday successfully conducted its third mission for the Japanese customer, Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS).

The ‘The Sea God Sees’ mission launched on Electron from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, at 8:17 p.m. NZT on May 17, 2025.

This mission delivered iQPS’ QPS-SAR-10, a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Earth-imaging satellite, to a 575km low Earth orbit as part of iQPS’ expanding satellite constellation.

Also Read: Rocket Lab’s New Defense Deal, 2025 Forecast Win Analyst Support

The launch marked the third overall mission for iQPS and the second under a multi-launch contract for eight missions scheduled across 2025 and 2026.

Notably, this launch occurred just weeks after Rocket Lab’s previous successful deployment for iQPS on March 15, 2025.

Four additional launches are planned for this year, with the final two slated for 2026.

Rocket Lab’s next mission for iQPS is scheduled to take place in less than a month, with a targeted launch date no earlier than June 2025.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck said, “Another fantastic launch by the Electron team to flawlessly deliver another iQPS mission to orbit. Constellation deployment requires a reliable rocket with pinpoint orbital deployment accuracy that allows for the seamless integration of the latest spacecraft to the constellation, and that’s exactly the service Electron continues to provide as the global leading launcher for small satellite missions.”

”With another mission lined up with iQPS in just a few short weeks, we’re looking forward to supporting their constellation with multiple missions this year and next.”

Last week, NASA chose the company to launch its Aspera mission, designed to study galaxies’ formation and evolution and provide new insights into how the universe works.

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF ARKX and Procure Space ETF UFO.

Price Action: RKLB shares were trading lower by 4.61% to $24.39 premarket at last check Monday.

Read Next:

• Benzinga’s ‘Stock Whisper’ Index: 5 Stocks Investors Secretly Monitor But Don’t Talk About Yet

Image by Emagnetic via Shutterstock