Bridging The Swarm

This follows a previous launch attempt on Dec 11th.

Scheduled for (UTC) 2025-12-16 00:55:440
Scheduled for (NZDT) 2025-12-16 13:55:00
Launch site Rocket Lab LC-1A, Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand
Booster recovery No
Launch vehicle Electron + Curie
Customer KASA
Payload NeonSat-1A
Mass 100 kg
Target orbit Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Stream Link
Rocket Lab (official) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBMyFpB9GPI
Space Affairs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqxPpFCd4U0
The Launch Pad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSvQgPa_cww
Everyday Astronaut https://www.youtube.com/@EverydayAstronaut/streams

Stats

  • 20th launch for Rocket Lab in 2025.
  • 78th overall launch for Rocket Lab.

Payload info:

Rocket Lab mission page

NextSpaceflight:

The NeonSat-1A, carrying a high-resolution optical camera, is designed to test the constellation capabilities of the South Korean government’s Earth observation micro-satellite constellation NeonSat (New-space Earth Observation Satellite), in particular technology improvements identified from operations of NeonSat-1 after its launch in April 2024. These technologies will in turn be incorporated into the next 10 NeonSat under construction, as well as providing more site re-visiting capabilities along with NeonSat-1.

The NeonSat constellation is the first satellite system developed by the government using a mass-production approach for precise monitoring of the Korean Peninsula, lead by the Satellite Technology Research Center (SaTReC) at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea’s leading university dedicated to science and technology. Designed to capture near-real time natural disaster monitoring for the Korean peninsula, KAIST’s NEONSAT constellation is a collaboration across multiple Korean academic, industry, and research institutions, including SaTReC, which is leading the program’s system design and engineering.

The NEONSAT program is funded by the Korean government’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT).

Previous mission: RAISE And Shine

Next mission: TBD

Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here! Also feel free to leave feedback or suggestions for the mod team. We’re a relatively small community, so feedback is very valuable!