Rocket Lab to launch private Earth-observing satellite June 2 after delay

Update for 4:20 p.m. on May 28: Rocket Lab announced today (May 28) that it's now targeting no earlier than June 2 EDT for the "Full Stream Ahead" launch "to allow for additional checkouts" and accommodate bad weather that's expected to come in.

Rocket Lab plans to launch an Earth-observing satellite for the company BlackSky tonight (May 28), and you can watch the action live.

An Electron rocket is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today at 9:15 p.m. EDT (0115 GMT and 1:15 p.m. New Zealand time on May 29), carrying a "Gen-3" satellite for Virginia-based BlackSky toward low Earth orbit (LEO).

Rocket Lab will stream the launch live, beginning 30 minutes before liftoff. You can watch live via the company and here at Space.com if, as expected, Rocket Lab makes the webcast available.

The mission, which Rocket Lab calls "Full Stream Ahead," will send the Gen-3 satellite to a circular orbit 292 miles (470 kilometers) above Earth.

Once there, the spacecraft "will join the remainder of the company's constellation delivering very high-resolution imagery and AI-enabled analytics for daily intelligence operations," Rocket Lab wrote in a mission description.

"'Full Stream Ahead' is the second in a series of four Electron launches booked by BlackSky to deploy its Gen-3 satellites to orbit this year, and the 10th overall [Electron] launch for the company — making Electron the most prolific launcher for their constellation to date," Rocket Lab added.

Tonight's launch will be the seventh of 2025 and the 65th overall flight for the 59-foot-tall (18 meters) Electron, which gives small satellites dedicated rides to orbit.

Rocket Lab also flies a suborbital variant of Electron known as HASTE, which serves as a testbed for hypersonic technologies. The company is also developing a larger, more powerful orbital rocket called Neutron, which is designed to be partially reusable. Neutron is expected to debut later this year.