Rocket Lab to fly milestone 100th Electron mission from New Zealand

Rocket Lab will fly the 100th Electron mission, named “The Mountain God Rises,” from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula on November 14, with liftoff set for 6:30 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, 12:30 a.m. EST, and 5:30 UTC.

Rocket Lab announced the milestone on November 12, 2026, describing the flight as historic for the global space industry and as a speed record for reaching 100 launches on commercially developed rockets. Astronomy Magazine and Ars Technica independently list the same November 14 date and Launch Complex 1 site, with time conversions that match the New Zealand time Rocket Lab provided. Electron first flew in 2017 and is heading toward 100 launches in under ten years, faster than all other commercially developed rockets. The company says Electron is now among the world’s most frequently launched rockets and that the vehicle has changed how small satellites reach orbit, a point Rocket Lab made in its November 12, 2026 announcement.

The rocket will carry one Earth-imaging satellite to orbit for the Japanese company the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS). The QPS-SAR satellite is targeted for a 575-kilometer low Earth orbit and will launch from Launch Complex 1. This is Rocket Lab’s eleventh dedicated launch for iQPS, part of the operator’s growing synthetic aperture radar constellation, which bounces microwaves off the ground to image Earth through rain, smoke, and darkness, showing the customer relationship is expanding.

The earlier iQPS satellite flew on November 2 as part of the same constellation build-out.

On November 2, Rocket Lab flew Electron’s 99th mission, called The Sea God Surveys, from New Zealand at 11:41 a.m. EST, deploying another QPS-SAR radar satellite for iQPS; it was the company’s tenth dedicated launch for the Japanese operator. Astronomy Magazine’s weekly launch recap, published November 9, 2026, places this flight immediately before the upcoming November 14 milestone, showing the rapid succession of dedicated iQPS missions.

The 100th-mission Electron will wear a special gold-and-black livery, Ars Technica noted. Electron is the first carbon composite orbital launch vehicle, one of the world-firsts Rocket Lab listed in its November 12, 2026 announcement. It flies using the Rutherford engine, described by the company as the first 3D-printed orbital rocket engine and the first to use electric fuel pumps instead of traditional gas turbines. Electron has flown from both hemispheres from pads in Virginia, USA, and New Zealand, including the world’s first private orbital launch complex.

Earlier in 2026, Electron set a responsive space record when it launched for the U.S. Space Force with only 16 hours and 42 minutes of notice, an achievement Rocket Lab cited ahead of the November 14, 2026 milestone. Rocket Lab Corporation issued the November 12, 2026 announcement, listing its Nasdaq trading symbol as RKLB and calling itself an end-to-end space company that builds rockets, satellites and spacecraft components for commercial, government and defense customers. According to the company, its satellites and components have supported more than 1,700 missions in Earth orbit and deep-space exploration reaching the Moon, Mars, and beyond, a figure the November 12, 2026 backgrounder gives alongside Electron, HASTE, and Neutron.

Rocket Lab will stream the liftoff live on YouTube at the Rocket Lab Corp channel, with coverage starting around 5:30 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time. Peter Beck said, “In the meantime I’d rather show you real-time progress than give you a date that I might have to walk back.”