Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) announced on Thursday that it launched its 81st Electron rocket, its second in eight days, to deploy an Earth-observation satellite for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
Details
Bridging The Swarm’ launched on January 30 at 2:21 pm NZDT (01:21 UTC) from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, carrying the NEONSAT-1A satellite to a 540 km low Earth orbit.
NEONSAT-1A will test capabilities for South Korea’s future NEONSAT constellation to monitor natural disasters and national security events along the Korean Peninsula.
The first satellite, NEONSAT-1, was deployed in 2024 on Rocket Lab’s ‘Beginning of The Swarm’ mission.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, stated, “Two launches in eight days is a strong start to the year that speaks volumes about the demand for Electron and the excellence and dedication of the Rocket Lab team.”
“We cemented our position as the leader in reliable and responsive launch with our record-breaking year of launches in 2025, and these latest launches show we’re gearing up for an even busier launch year in 2026.”
First Launch Of 2026
This month, the company disclosed that it completed its first launch of 2026 titled The Cosmos Will See You Now, which lifted off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, at 11:52 pm NZDT (10:52 UTC).
The company’s 2026 schedule features a full slate of Electron launches for both new and returning customers from its Virginia and New Zealand launch sites, with the next mission set to lift off soon from Launch Complex 1.
RKLB Price Action: Rocket Lab shares were down 3.26% at $82.89 during premarket trading on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo by Emagnetic via Shutterstock
