Rocket Lab names and dates its 99th Electron launch — the step before the 100th
From the Space digest for Nov 1, 2026
What happened: Rocket Lab's next Electron mission — "The Sea God Surveys," carrying Japan's 10th iQPS radar satellite — is scheduled to lift off from LC-1 in New Zealand on November 2 at 16:41 UTC, the vehicle's 99th launch and the flight directly ahead of the company's 100th Electron mission. The company's own announcement lays out the same date across time zones.
What's genuinely new: A named mission, a named customer payload and a dated liftoff for launch 99 — previous coverage carried the count toward a 100th Electron flight and the October 23 HawkEye 360 mission as the last confirmed flight, but had not scheduled this one.
Watch: Whether launch 99 flies on schedule, and then the shape of the 100th-flight milestone — its customer, its date and how Rocket Lab frames the cadence when it arrives.
Links: Tech Times · Rocket Lab via Jeff Foust · Nov 1, 4:16 PM ET