3 hours ago 1

Rocket Lab launching 5 'Internet of Things' satellites tonight: Watch it live

a white and black rocket climbs into a blue sky

A Rocket Lab Electron vehicle launches the "IOT 4 You and Me" mission on Feb. 9, 2025, carrying five satellites for the French company Kinéis. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)

Rocket Lab plans to launch five satellites for the French technology company Kinéis tonight (March 17), and you can watch the action live.

An Electron vehicle carrying five of Kinéis' "Internet of Things" spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today at 9:31 p.m. EDT (0131 GMT and 2:31 p.m. local New Zealand time on March 18).

Rocket Lab will stream the mission live, starting 30 minutes before launch. Space.com will carry the feed as well, if Rocket Lab makes it available.

If all goes according to plan tonight, the Electron will deploy the five satellites into a circular orbit 404 miles (650 kilometers) above Earth about 66.5 minutes after liftoff.

"High Five" will finish the assembly of Kinéis' 25-nanosatellite constellation. The other 20 spacecraft went up on four Electron launches, in June, September and November of 2024 and February of this year.

Thanks to this constellation, "Kinéis can connect any object from anywhere in the world and transmit useful data from these objects to users in near real time," Rocket Lab wrote in the "High Five" press kit, which you can find here.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

"This data is a decision-making tool that can be used to optimize activities while reducing risks, thanks to three essential functions: tracking, monitoring and alerting," the company added.

"High Five" will be the fourth mission of 2025 for the 59-foot-tall (18-meter) Electron. The rocket's third launch of the year occurred just last Friday (March 14), when it sent a radar satellite for the Japan-based Earth-imaging company iQPS to orbit.

Electron flew 14 times in 2024, which was a new high for the vehicle. Rocket Lab also conducted two launches last year with HASTE, a modified suborbital version of Electron that serves as a testbed for hypersonic technology.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

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.

More about launches spacecraft

Read Entire Article