OREANDA-NEWS  The American Electron rocket launched into orbit on Friday with the Japanese radar satellite QPS-SAR-5 (Tsukuyomi-I), equipped with equipment for obtaining high-quality images of the Earth, the company developing the Rocket Lab carrier said.

As part of the mission called The Moon God Awakens, the launch of a two-stage Electron rocket with a Kick Stage Curie upper stage was carried out from the LC-1 launch complex located on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand at 17:05 local time (07:05 Moscow time). The 100 kg Earth remote sensing spacecraft of the Japanese Institute of Q-shu Space Pioneers is to be launched into orbit about an hour after the launch of the rocket.

A satellite with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which is launched into orbit at a height of 575 km, will provide high-resolution images. It will join a similar Japanese spacecraft that was previously launched into orbit.

In the future, the Japanese company plans to deploy an orbital grouping of 36 such devices, which will allow you to image any part of the planet with an interval of no more than 10 minutes.

This is the tenth launch of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket this year and the 42nd mission since it began operation.