What Happened
Last-Second Abort Delays Deployment of Earth-Observing Spacecraft
Rocket Lab attempted to launch a Japanese Earth-observing radar satellite, QPS-SAR-13, on June 30, but aborted the mission at the last second. The cause of the abort is unclear, and it is unknown when the company will try again. The satellite is part of a constellation of 36 spacecraft being built by Japan-based iQPS to study Earth using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar. This launch was to be Rocket Lab’s 92nd mission to date, and its 13th of 2026. The news was first reported by Space.com.