Owl Night Long
Owl Night Long was a Rocket Lab Electron mission for Synspective that launched successfully at 15:03 UTC on 12 March 2024 (4:03 a.m. NZDT on 13 March; 11:03 a.m. EDT on 12 March) from Launch Complex 1B on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.
15:03 UTC on 12 March 2024 · 4:03 a.m. NZDT on 13 March · 11:03 a.m. EDT on 12 March
Disclaimer: This livestream is from a third-party channel and is not an official Rocket Lab broadcast.
Mission State
This mission currently has a dated launch window in the tracker.
The current watch link is from a third-party source rather than Rocket Lab directly.
Launch Updates
-
Launch Successful
by hitura-nobad Source: synspective.com -
Liftoff
by hitura-nobad Source: youtube.com -
Livestream has started
by LL2 Source: youtube.com
Updates via Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs).
Name Origin
Pun on Lionel Richie's 1983 hit "All Night Long," with "All" replaced by "Owl" — referencing Synspective's StriX satellites, named after the owl genus Strix.
Mission Overview
StriX-3 is a synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective. It can gather high resolution Earth observation data regardless of conditions or daylight, offering a resilient and effective resource for the purposes of urban development, infrastructure monitoring, and disaster response.
Technical Details
40
kiwisLaunch data cross-checked against Wikipedia.
Was this a jellyfish launch?
UnlikelySun 33° below the horizon at liftoff — full night, the plume stays in Earth's shadow.
Details
- Unlikely
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Liftoff
- 4:03 a.m. NZDT · 15:03 UTC
- Astronomical dawn (−18°)
- 5:33 a.m. NZDT · 16:33 UTC
- Nautical dawn (−12°)
- 6:05 a.m. NZDT · 17:05 UTC
- Civil dawn (−6°)
- 6:37 a.m. NZDT · 17:37 UTC
- Sunrise
- 7:04 a.m. NZDT · 18:04 UTC
Twilight times at the pad (Mahia, NZ) for the morning 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-3 2024-047A · Payload | Operator Synspective Inc. | Built by Synspective Inc. StriX | Mass 150 kg | Orbit 494 × 512 km · 97.7° | Status On orbit | NORAD 59224 |
Electron 45 Kick Stage 2024-047B · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Kick Stage | Mass 40 kg | Orbit 459 × 465 km · 97.7° | Status On orbit | NORAD 59225 |
Electron 45 Stage 2 2024-047C · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Electron St2 | Mass 250 kg | Orbit 132 × 209 km · 97.5° | Status Decayed 2024-03-21 | NORAD 59226 |
