Raise and Shine (RAISE-4)

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Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Technology

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

RAISE-4 (RApid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite-4) is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) satellite for on-orbit demonstrations of 15 demonstration components and equipment selected by public solicitation. The satellite will be operated in response to requests from the demonstration theme proposers, and will provide experimental data of the demonstration devices and environmental data during the experiments. 6 of the demonstration payload, as well as as well as 4 cubesats originally planned to ride on the same launch vehicle, are re-flight of those planned for RAISE-3, which failed to reach orbit in October 2022. The launch vehicle was switched from Epsilon-S to Rocket Lab's Electron due to continuous testing problems with the Epsilon-S' 2nd stage motor. The original 8 hitch-hiking cubesats will be launched on another Electron rocket later.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Nov. 25, 2025, 1:56 a.m.

GO for launch.


hitura-nobad • Nov. 24, 2025, 9:38 p.m.

Setting Pad and Hour




Cosmic_Penguin • Oct. 10, 2025, 6:09 a.m.

Launch vehicle switched to Electron due to continuous testing problems with the Epsilon-S launch vehicle.


Electron

Family:
Configuration:

Electron is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle (with an optional third stage) developed by the American aerospace company Rocket Lab. Electron is a small-lift launch vehicle designed to launch small satellites and cubesats to sun-synchronous orbit and low earth orbit. The Electron is the first orbital class rocket to use electric-pump-fed engines, powered by the 9 Rutherford engines on the first stage. It is also used as a suborbital testbed (called HASTE) for hypersonics research.

See Details
Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    2
  • Max Stage
    3
  • Length
    18.0 m
  • Diameter
    1.2 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    1.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    13.0 T
  • Thrust
    162.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Electron
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Electron
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $6000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    300.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    225.0 kg

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab

(RL)

CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 72 Failures: 4 Pending: 44

Agency Type:

Rocket Lab is an American aerospace manufacturer with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. The company develops lightweight, cost-effective commercial rocket launch services. The Electron Program was founded on the premise that small payloads such as CubeSats require dedicated small launch vehicles and flexibility not currently offered by traditional rocket systems. Its rocket, the Electron, is a light-weight rocket and is now operating commercially. The company is also producing a variety of spacecrafts and spacecrafts components.

INFO WIKI

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