Japan company iQPS announce on 2 November 2026 say dem plan launch QPS-SAR-20 radar satellite, wey dem name WADATSUMI-II, with Rocket Lab Electron rocket. Di published window open 16:30 UTC on Monday 2 November — 5:30 pm for Nigeria. Na earliest target time, no be guarantee say rocket go take off or confirmation say satellite don reach orbit.
Dem call di mission The Sea God Surveys, and dem plan launch am from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 for New Zealand. Di same moment na Tuesday 3 November 5:30 am for New Zealand daylight time and 1:30 am for Japan. Different calendar dates for announcements no necessarily mean different missions or disagreement about launch day.
Di customer new announcement and Rocket Lab mission page both list 16:30 UTC as window opening. Older launch lists show 16:41 UTC. People wey wan follow di flight suppose check di operator current mission page near departure, because schedule fit change. Dis report use new customer notice and matching mission page; e no present older tracker time as fixed.
Dem plan put di satellite for low Earth orbit at 575 kilometres altitude. Rocket Lab list 42 degrees orbital inclination and say na its tenth Electron flight for iQPS. Na one QPS-SAR satellite di rocket go carry. All these na mission plans: dem must separately confirm successful launch, satellite release and later operation.
iQPS dey build commercial network wey use synthetic aperture radar take Earth images. Rocket Lab describe di service wey dem intend as high-resolution and near-real-time Earth images. Na di companies stated aim for network wey dem still dey develop; dis launch announcement no prove say all planned network or all promised capabilities don dey work.
Wetin e mean for you: Nigerian readers fit follow di announced window without mixing Japan Tuesday date with Nigeria Monday evening. Di sources no announce Nigerian contract, free image service or local application opportunity. Students wey dey watch should separate liftoff from satellite release and useful observations later. Successful rocket flight alone no prove say new imaging service don available to Nigerian users.