Owl By The Dozen
Owl By The Dozen was a Rocket Lab Electron mission for Synspective that launched successfully at 03:22 UTC on 19 September 2026 (3:22 p.m. NZST on 19 September; 11:22 p.m. EDT on 18 September) from Launch Complex 1B on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.
03:22 UTC on 19 September 2026 · 3:22 p.m. NZST on 19 September · 11:22 p.m. EDT on 18 September
Mission State
This mission currently has a dated launch window in the tracker.
The primary watch link points to an official Rocket Lab source.
Launch Updates
-
Launch success.
by Cosmic_Penguin Source: synspective.com -
Spacecraft separation.
by Cosmic_Penguin Source: youtube.com -
Liftoff.
by Cosmic_Penguin Source: youtube.com
Updates via Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs).
Mission Overview
Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.
In the news
- MISSION SUCCESS: Rocket Lab Launches 96th Electron Mission (opens in a new tab) Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab launched its 96th Electron mission on September 19, 2026, delivering Synspective's 12th StriX satellite to a 572km orbit.
- Rocket Lab continues high Electron cadence with Synspective launch (opens in a new tab) SpaceNews
Rocket Lab launched a radar-imaging satellite for Japanese company Synspective on September 18, its fifth Electron flight in six weeks.
Technical Details
40
kiwis- Owl By The Dozen rocketlabcorp.com
Launch data cross-checked against Rocket Lab press releases, Synspective, and Wikipedia.
Was this a jellyfish launch?
UnlikelySun 29° above the horizon at liftoff — daylight, the sky is too bright.
Details
- Unlikely
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Liftoff
- 3:22 p.m. NZST · 03:22 UTC
- Sunset
- 6:01 p.m. NZST · 06:01 UTC
- Civil dusk (−6°)
- 6:28 p.m. NZST · 06:28 UTC
- Nautical dusk (−12°)
- 6:59 p.m. NZST · 06:59 UTC
- Astronomical dusk (−18°)
- 7:31 p.m. NZST · 07:31 UTC
Twilight times at the pad (Mahia, NZ) for the evening of the launch.
What's a rocket jellyfish? When a rocket launches in twilight, the ground is dark but its exhaust plume climbs into sunlight high above. The expanding plume glows against the dark sky in a jellyfish-like shape.
Space-Object Catalog
| Object | Operator | Built by | Mass | Orbit | Status | NORAD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
STRIX-10 2026-217A · Payload | Operator — | Built by — | Mass — | Orbit 534 × 578 km · 38.2° | Status On orbit | NORAD 100746 |
ELECTRON R/B 2026-217B · Stage | Operator — | Built by — | Mass — | Orbit 151 × 279 km · 38.1° | Status Decayed 2026-09-28 | NORAD 100747 |
ELECTRON KICK STAGE R/B 2026-217C · Stage | Operator — | Built by — | Mass — | Orbit 287 × 537 km · 38.2° | Status On orbit | NORAD 100748 |
