Rocket Lab launches 5 satellites on mystery mission

Rocket Lab launched five satellites for a confidential customer this evening (Aug. 23) on the 70th overall liftoff of its Electron rocket.

An Electron carrying the satellite quintet lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today at 6:42 p.m. EDT (2242 GMT; 10:42 a.m. on Aug. 24 local New Zealand time).

The mission, which Rocket Lab calls "Live, Laugh, Launch," is sending five satellites to a circular orbit 413 miles (665 kilometers) above Earth.

A Rocket Lab Electron vehicle launches five satellites for a confidential customer from New Zealand on Aug. 23, 2025. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)

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.

Rocket Lab ended its launch webcast about 10 minutes after liftoff today, at the request of the customer.

— Rocket Lab launches new NASA solar sail tech to orbit (video, photos)

— Rocket Lab launches private Earth-observing radar satellite to orbit (video, photos)

"Live, Laugh, Launch" was 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.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 6:50 p.m. ET with news of successful liftoff.

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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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