Rocket Lab launched five satellites for a French technology company today (Sept. 20).
The Rocket Lab launch, using the company's Electron rocket, occurred from New Zealand at 7:01 p.m. EDT (2301 GMT or 11:01 a.m. local time in New Zealand on Saturday, Sept. 21).
The satellites were deployed into a 400-mile-high (643 kilometers) orbit about 66 minutes after launch, just as planned, according to Rocket Lab.
The liftoff came on the mission's second attempt. A try on Wednesday (Sept. 18) was aborted just as the countdown clock hit zero, after the Electron's flight computer was triggered by a ground systems sensor.
Today's mission was the second of five Rocket Lab launches for Kinéis, a French company that works on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. The IoT refers to connected devices that exchange data with each other and the cloud. The technology can be used for everything from live-tracking shipping containers to updating the list of items in a fridge.
Related: Rocket Lab launches 5 IoT satellites on landmark 50th mission (video)
Rocket Lab called today's mission "Kinéis Killed the RadIOT Star." Kinéis plans to launch 25 satellites with Rocket Lab overall. Ten of them are now in space; the other five reached orbit on a June 20 Rocket Lab launch called "No Time Toulouse."
The completed, 25-satellite constellation will be able to "connect any object anywhere in the world and guarantee the transmission of targeted and useful data to users," according to a press release from Rocket Lab. Financial backers for Kinéis include the French national space agency (CNES) and CLS, a French company that deals with international space-based solutions.
The constellation from Kinéis will also have the ability to track ships using automatic identification system (AIS) technology. AIS transmits the identity, direction, position and speed of vessels to other ships or satellites, for reasons including traffic safety and maritime security, according to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
Rocket Lab operates two launch complexes, one in New Zealand and one in Virginia. The company has sent more than 180 satellites to space to date, according to its website, with anchor customers including NASA, the U.S. Space Force and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The 59-foot-tall (18 meters) Electron is small compared to SpaceX's Falcon 9, which is perhaps Rocket Lab's biggest competitor. The Falcon 9 stands 229 feet (70 m) tall and has completed hundreds of launches successfully. Rocket Lab says its differentiator is more flexibility for small satellite companies, especially in situations where Electron uses a "kick stage" that can do orbital inclination changes for satellite deployments.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 10:20 p.m. ET on Sept. 19 with news of the Sept. 20 launch date and the Sept. 18 launch abort, then again at 8:15 p.m. ET on Sept. 20 with news of successful launch and satellite deployment.
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