Rocket Lab plans to launch a Japanese satellite from the space company’s complex in New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — California-based Rocket Lab, which specializes in putting small satellites into orbit, plans to launch a Japanese satellite on Friday from the space company’s complex on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula.

The mission, named “The Moon God Awakens,” was initially scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed due to forecast strong winds. The Electron rocket is scheduled to launch during a two-hour window that starts at 5 p.m. local time (04:00 GMT), the company said.

The rocket will carry a TSUKUYOMI-I satellite into orbit on behalf of a Japanese start-up Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space Inc.

The synthetic-aperture radar satellite, named after a Japanese god of the moon, will collect images of the Earth, Rocket Lab said.

The mission would be Rocket Lab’s 10th for 2023, exceeding its annual record of nine set last year.

It will be the 42nd Electron launch from Mahia or at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia, since 2017. Rocket Lab was founded in New Zealand in 2006.

Rocket Lab plans to stream the launch live on its website.