Watch Rocket Lab launch 5 satellites on mystery mission today

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Liftoff of the "Live, Laugh, Launch" mission is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET tonight (Aug. 23).

a black and white rocket launches into a blue sky
A Rocket Lab Electron carrying 13 NASA satellites, including 10 cubesats for agency's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites program, launches from the Mahia Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island on Dec. 16, 2018 on the ElaNa-19 mission. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)

Rocket Lab will launch five mystery spacecraft today (Aug. 23), and you can watch the action live.

An Electron rocket carrying the satellite quintet is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT; 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 24 local New Zealand time).

You can watch it live via Rocket Lab, and Space.com will carry the company's feed if (as expected) it's made available. Coverage will begin 30 minutes before liftoff.

Today's mission, which Rocket Lab calls "Live, Laugh, Launch," will send five satellites to a circular orbit 413 miles (665 kilometers) above Earth.

That's pretty much all we know about the flight, which is veiled in secrecy; it's the second of two contracted missions that Electron will launch for a confidential customer, according to the company.

"Live, Laugh, Launch" will be the 12th launch of 2025 and 70th overall for Electron, a 59-foot-tall (18 meters) rocket that gives small satellites dedicated rides to Earth orbit and beyond.

Rocket Lab is also developing a larger, partially reusable vehicle called Neutron, which is expected to debut before the year is out.

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Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

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