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Owl Around The World (StriX Launch 11)

Electron, flown by Rocket Lab

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Electron lifting off with the Owl Around The World (StriX Launch 11) mission
Image via The Space Devs.

This is Rocket Lab's 15th launch of 2026, and its 94th in all.

Counting every operator, it is the 208th orbital launch attempt anywhere in 2026, and the first from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.

Launch time
Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, 11:30 a.m. UTC
Launch site
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Rocket
Electron
Operator
Rocket Lab

The mission

Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.

Type
Earth science
Destination
Low Earth orbit

The rocket

Electron is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle (with an optional third stage) developed by the American aerospace company Rocket Lab. Electron is a small-lift launch vehicle designed to launch small satellites and cubesats to sun-synchronous orbit and low earth orbit. The Electron is the first orbital class rocket to use electric-pump-fed engines, powered by the 9 Rutherford engines on the first stage. It is also used as a suborbital testbed (called HASTE) for hypersonics research.

Height
18 m
Built by
Rocket Lab
First flew
May 25, 2017
Lifts to low Earth orbit
300 kg
View 4 specifications Show less
Diameter
1.2 m
Mass at liftoff
13 t
Thrust at liftoff
162 kN
Stages
2 to 3

93 flights, 89 of them successful. 7 boosters brought back from 9 attempts.

rocketlabusa.com → Wikipedia →

The operator

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is an American aerospace manufacturer with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. The company develops lightweight, cost-effective commercial rocket launch services. The Electron Program was founded on the premise that small payloads such as CubeSats require dedicated small launch vehicles and flexibility not currently offered by traditional rocket systems. Its rocket, the Electron, is a light-weight rocket and is now operating commercially. The company is also producing a variety of spacecrafts and spacecrafts components.

Sector
Commercial
Based in
USA
Founded
2006
Run by
Peter Beck, CEO

93 launches so far, 89 of them successful. The last 52 in a row went to plan.

rocketlabcorp.com → Wikipedia →

The launch site

It goes up from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.

See the pad on a map →

Will you see it from where you live?

A launch that clears the horizon is visible for hundreds of miles. Flyby takes this rocket’s trajectory and your location and tells you whether it comes over you, when, and which way to face.

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