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Watch Rocket Lab launch Japanese radar satellite to orbit early on Sept. 2

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a black and white rocket launches into a dark night sky A Rocket Lab Electron rocket launches "The Grain Goddess Provides" mission for the Japanese company iqps from New Zealand on Aug. 6, 2026. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)

Rocket Lab will launch a private Japanese radar satellite to orbit early Wednesday morning (Sept. 2), and you can watch the action live.

An Electron vehicle is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site on Wednesday during a window that opens at 7:00 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT; 11:00 p.m. local New Zealand time). It's carrying a single Strix satellite for Synspective, a Tokyo-based Earth-imaging company.

You can watch it live via Rocket Lab, beginning about 30 minutes before launch. Space.com will air the feed as well, if, as expected, Rocket Lab makes it available.

Synspective is assembling a constellation of about 30 Strix satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). These spacecraft — which are named after a widespread genus of owl — use synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to study our planet both day and night, and in all weather conditions.

The Strix constellation will "make it possible to quickly monitor and confirm on-the-ground changes during disasters such as earthquakes and floods at night, as well as in areas that are difficult to access," Synspective's website reads.

"In addition to disaster response, we will leverage our SAR satellite capabilities to promote efficient resource utilization," it adds. "For example, we can use our satellite data to monitor natural resources and urban development, ensuring sustainable and optimal use of land and water."

Ten Strix satellites have reached orbit to date, all of them atop Electron vehicles. Rocket Lab is currently the sole launch provider for Synspective and has 16 more missions for the company on its manifest after Wednesday's mission.

If all goes according to plan on Wednesday, the Electron's upper "kick stage" will deploy the Strix satellite 56 minutes after liftoff, at an altitude of 357 miles (575 kilometers).

The 59-foot-tall (18 meters) Electron is designed to give small satellites dedicated rides to Earth orbit and beyond. Wednesday's mission, which Rocket Lab calls "Owl Around the World," will be the rocket's 12th of 2026 and 85th overall.

Rocket Lab has also launched nine missions to date with HASTE, a suborbital version of Electron that allows customers to test sensors and instruments in a hypersonic flight environment. While Electron debuted in 2017, HASTE lifted off for the first time in June 2023.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 1 a.m. ET on Aug. 31 with the new launch date of Sept. 1, then again at 8:55 p.m. ET on Aug. 31 with the new launch date of Sept. 2.

Michael Wall is the Spaceflight and Tech Editor for Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers human and robotic spaceflight, military space, and exoplanets, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

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