Rocket Lab Launches What's Likely a US Military Imaging Satellite

Rocket Lab launched an unnamed satellite into orbit aboard its Electron rocket on Thursday, marking the third successful liftoff of 2026. Although the payload was undisclosed at the time, observers have speculated that it's part of BlackSky's Gen-3 satellite constellation, which it built for the US military for Earth imaging at a jaw-dropping resolution.

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket launched from its New Zealand launch facility in the early hours of March 6 local time, as part of the mission "Insight at Speed is a Friend Indeed." The launch was kept hidden from the press until just before it happened, with Rocket Lab explaining that its payload was "for a confidential commercial customer," Space.com reports.

The launch was for a single satellite, with an orbital deployment of around 292 miles up. Although Rocket Lab did stream the launch, it cut the feed before the satellite was deployed ...