Mission Status
The Moon God Awakens
Last Updated: 4 minutes ago
SUCCESS
Orbit Achieved
Vehicle
Electron
Launch Site
LC-1B
Orbit
Low Earth Orbit
Profile
Earth Science
Friday, December 15, 2023 04:05 AM UTC Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Source: RocketLabCorp
Mission State
Schedule
Date and time on file
This mission currently has a dated launch window in the tracker.
Coverage
Official livestream linked
The primary watch link points to an official Rocket Lab source.
Name Origin
AI
Named for QPS-SAR-5 "TSUKUYOMI-I." Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto is the Shinto moon god, born from Izanagi's right eye alongside Amaterasu. Banished after killing food goddess Ukemochi — explaining why sun and moon never meet.
"The Moon God Awakens"
Mission Overview
QPS-SAR-5 is a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite that will join a constellation after QPS-SAR-6 already in orbit. iQPS’s satellites are small, high-performance SAR satellites that use a lightweight, large, stowable antenna to collect high resolution images of Earth, even through clouds and adverse weather conditions.
Technical Details
Vehicle
Electron
Rocket Lab launch vehicle
Launch Site
Launch Complex 1B
LC-1B · Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Target Orbit
Low Earth Orbit
Planned deployment regime
Mission Profile
Earth Science
Mission architecture
Payload Mass
100 kg
40
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