The Moon God Awakens

The QPS-SAR-5 satellite deployed nearly 57 minutes after liftoff into a 575-kilometer orbit.

The QPS-SAR-5 satellite was originally scheduled to launch on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne before Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy in April and was liquidated.

The QPS-SAR-5 launch was delayed by Rocket Lab’s earlier Electron upper-stage failure.

Virgin Orbit expects to launch QPS-SAR-5 on LauncherOne into a tailored, mid-inclination orbit to expand iQPS’s constellation coverage and revisit rate.

iQPS acquired 0.7 m resolution images with QPS-SAR-2, and subsequent satellites including QPS-SAR-5 are expected to achieve even higher resolution.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. will launch iQPS’s QPS-SAR-5 satellite on an Electron rocket.

iQPS originally contracted to launch QPS-SAR-5 on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne under a contract announced in May 2022.

iQPS originally had QPS-SAR-5 manifested on another launch vehicle but selected Rocket Lab to launch QPS-SAR-5 on a dedicated Electron mission to expedite deployment.

iQPS signed a contract with Rocket Lab in August to launch QPS-SAR-5 after Virgin Orbit’s bankruptcy.

Rocket Lab previously launched missions for iQPS including 'The Moon God Awakens' in December 2023 and four others in 2025.