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Rocket Lab launches Synspective radar satellite
May 22: Electron lifts StriX from New Zealand to a 572 km orbit
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Rocket Lab launched a Synspective StriX radar-imaging satellite from New Zealand, adding to a Japan-focused SAR constellation as Rocket Lab lines up new financing for growth.
- Frame 1May 22: Electron lifts StriX from New Zealand to a 572 km orbit.
- Frame 2The satellite joins Japan's SAR network for cities, infrastructure, construction, and disaster response.
- Frame 3SAR maps through cloud and darkness when ordinary optical imagery goes blind.
- Frame 4Synspective wants 30 satellites by 2028; Rocket Lab has 18 more launches booked.
- Frame 5Rocket Lab is lining up $3 billion in stock sales. The cadence now has to prove the business.
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- May 25, 12:27 AM EDT
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