Rocket Lab launches mystery satellite on 'Happily Ever Faster' mission
Technology
Rocket Lab pulled off another successful launch, sending a mystery satellite into low Earth orbit on Thursday night from New Zealand.
The mission, called "Happily Ever Faster," saw its Electron rocket lift off at 11:28pm EDT and confirm deployment just 80 minutes later.
This is Rocket Lab's 16th win this year, including 13 Electron launches and three HASTE flights.
Rocket Lab confirms Earth observing payload
Details about the satellite are hush-hush, but space watchers think it might be a "Gen-3" Earth observation satellite for BlackSky, a geospatial intelligence company known for sharp-eyed satellites that can spot objects as small as 14-inch.
Later on, Rocket Lab did confirm that the payload is an Earth-observing craft, but kept everything else under wraps.