Rocket Lab Successfully Resumes Launches After Anomaly

Rocket Lab successfully launched a Japanese radar imaging satellite, the QPS-SAR-5, on the first flight of its Electron rocket since a launch failure three months ago. The launch, which took place from New Zealand, marked the tenth flight of the Electron this year and exceeded the company's previous record. Rocket Lab addressed the previous launch failure by improving ground tests and implementing measures to prevent arcing conditions. The customer for the launch, iQPS, is developing a constellation of 36 satellites for synthetic aperture radar imagery. Rocket Lab has a manifest of 22 Electron launches planned for 2024.