Rocket Lab Launched its ‘Kakushin Rising’ Mission Last Night
"Kakushin Rising" was Rocket Lab's second of two dedicated Electron missions for JAXA’s Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program.
(Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand) Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ: RKLB) last night at 11.09pm EDT (early morning New Zealand time, at 0309 GMT and 3.19pm local New Zealand time on Thurs, Apr. 23) launched its “Kukushin Rising” Electron mission from its Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
Image of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket launching its “Kukushin Rising” mission for JAXA last night (Apr. 22) at 11.09pm EDT / 3.09pm NZST on Apr. 23, courtesy of SciNews on YouTube.
The satellites were deployed into low Earth orbit at an altitude of 336 miles (540 kilometers) just under an hour after launch, as planned, according to an X post from Rocket Lab, @RocketLab.
"Kakuchin Rising" is the second of two contracted Electron missions for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program, and marks the 79th launch to date for the 59-foot-tall Electron rocket, according to Space.com.
The first Electron flight for JAXA, “RAISE and Shine,” was launched in December of 2025, sending JAXA’s Rapid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite-4, known as RAISE-4, to low Earth orbit to test a variety of technologies.
The eight satellites flying on the JAXA-rideshare “Kakuchin Rising” included educational small sats, an ocean monitoring satellite, a demonstration satellite for ultra-small multispectral cameras, and a deployable antenna that can be packed tightly using origami folding techniques and unfurled to 25 times its size, according to Rocket Lab’s mission description.
