From Contract to Launch in Four Months
Rocket Lab Schedules Rapid Turnaround Launch for OroraTech
A rapid turnaround mission on Electron has been scheduled for OroraTech, a Germany-based global provider of wildfire detection and monitoring solutions. The mission, named “Finding Hot Wildfires Near You,” is set to launch during a window that opens on March 27th UTC and will lift off from Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch site Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Meanwhile, the company completed the deployment of the an IoT constellaton for Kinéis.
“That’s five missions out of five for Kinéis delivered flawlessly by Electron.” Rocket Lab statement.
The mission is being deployed only four months after the launch contract was signed to support OroraTech’s season-sensitive requirements for its wildfire detection mission.
Electron will deliver eight of OroraTech’s Constellation Phase 1 satellites to a 340-mile orbit to expand its constellation providing data from space to help tackle wildfire challenges globally. Using AI-driven analytics derived from near-real-time data provided by its satellites’ thermal infrared cameras, OroraTech’s constellation empowers first responders, governments and those alike with the ability to swiftly address wildfires and hotspots worldwide, significantly enhancing the protection of people, forests, and infrastructure.
“Finding Hot Wildfires Near You” will be Rocket Lab’s fifth mission of 2025 and 63rd Electron launch overall, and will bring the total number of satellites delivered to space by Electron to 224.
In a related story, Rocket Lab this week launched an Electron rocket to deploy five satellites to Low Earth Orbit for French Internet-of-Things (IoT) constellation operator Kinéis. The mission was the fifth in a five-launch deal with Kinéis that has seen Rocket Lab deploy a complete constellation of 25 IoT satellites in less than a year.
The “High Five” mission, the 62nd Electron Launch, lifted-off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand on March 18th, 2025, and deployed five satellites to a 400-mile low Earth orbit.
“That’s five missions out of five for Kinéis delivered flawlessly by Electron. Many constellation operators wait years for their first mission, but we’ve deployed Kinéis’ mission in under a year and with 100% dedicated launches where they have been able to select launch site, date, and orbital parameters allowing them to maximize coverage for each of their 25 spacecraft,” Rocket Lab said in a statement posted on its website. “We’re proud to have enabled a more connected world through Kinéis’ IoT spacecraft and look forward to seeing all the valuable data and insights the constellation provides in the coming months and years.”