Rocket Lab flies its 16th Electron mission of 2026

Rocket Lab/Electron

Rocket Lab's 'Happily Ever Faster' mission lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand on 11 September 2026 and placed one Earth-observation satellite for a confidential customer into a 500 km circular orbit. It was Electron's 16th launch of the year and 95th overall, putting Rocket Lab on pace to match or beat its 21 launches in 2025.

• Liftoff was at 3:28 p.m. NZST, eight days after a Synspective radar-satellite launch, Electron's 94th flight.
• The customer was not named; some outside observers think the payload was a BlackSky Gen-3 imaging satellite.
• Another Electron launch for a commercial constellation operator was planned before the end of September.