Rocket Lab Launches Kushinada-I Satellite to Orbit for Japan’s iQPS

On August 5, 2025, Rocket Lab launched Japan’s QPS-SAR-12 satellite, nicknamed Kushinada-I, aboard its Electron rocket from Mahia, New Zealand. Built by the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS), the satellite joins a growing constellation of synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) spacecraft designed for high-resolution, all-weather, day-and-night Earth observation.