Ibadan, 13 March 2024. – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has launched its 45th Electron rocket, deploying a fourth SAR satellite to Synspective’s Earth-observation constellation. “Owl Night Long”, a dedicated mission for Synspective, launched from Pad B at Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The mission delivered a single spacecraft, the StriX-3 satellite, to a 561km Sun Synchronous Orbit, where it joined Synspective’s growing constellation.
Rocket Lab has been the sole launch provider for Synspective’s constellation, previously delivering three satellites across launches in September 2022, February 2022, and December 2020. Furthermore, Rocket Lab will launch two more missions for Synspective as part of a multi-launch agreement signed in 2023. “Owl Night Long” was Rocket Lab’s third Electron mission of 2024.
StriX is a small, innovative, and low-cost Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite that was jointly developed by Synspective, the University of Tokyo, the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The technology originated from the Impulsing Paradigm Change through Disruptive Technologies (ImPACT) Program, a Japanese government-led R&D initiative.
Speaking on the launch, Synspective founder and CEO Dr. Motoyuki Arai said, “We sincerely thank our Synspective and Rocket Lab teams for their commitment to the StriX-3 project. We’ve made significant milestones, including the successful launch of four satellites and the rollout of multiple solutions. Additionally, we’ve formed partnerships worldwide and engaged with numerous customers, marking our steady growth.”
The CEO also added, “This year, we will be enhancing our satellite manufacturing facilities, improving our constellation operations, increasing our data supply, and strengthening our data analysis capabilities. To facilitate societal progress and achieve sustainable development, we will further our analytics platform business, leveraging data-driven and collective learning.”
