Rocket Lab successfully launched its 93rd Electron rocket on August 20, 2026, from its launch complex in Mahia, New Zealand. The mission, nicknamed 'The Lightning God Defends', deployed an Earth-imaging satellite for the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS) of Japan. The satellite, SUSANOO-II, was placed into a 575-kilometer low Earth orbit.
This marks Rocket Lab's 14th launch of 2026 and its ninth successful deployment for iQPS, which is building a constellation of 36 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. iQPS has an additional nine dedicated Electron launches booked with Rocket Lab to continue its constellation build-out. In other news, filings on August 20 revealed that institutional investors Monetta Financial Services Inc. and E Fund Management Co. Ltd. have recently taken new positions in the company.