Posted: Sat, Apr 25, 2026, 10:57 AM ET (1457 GMT)
An Electron rocket launched a set of Japanese cubesats Wednesday night. The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 11:09 pm EDT (0309 GMT Thursday) deploying eight cubesats sponsored by the Japanese space agency JAXA into sun-synchronous orbits. The cubesats, developed by Japanese companies and universities, are designed to test advanced technologies. The launch was the second of two ordered by JAXA last fall for launching tech demo smallsats prompted by problems with Japan's Epsilon small launcher. The launch came a little more than 24 hours after the suborbital version of Electron, HASTE, launched from Wallops Island, Virginia, on a classified mission.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Rocket Lab press release