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Rocket Lab’s 10th mission of 2024 sent Capella Space’s Acadia-3 Earth-imaging satellite into orbit. The Electron rocket launched on 11 August 2024 at 13:18 UTC from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, then deployed the spacecraft into a 615-kilometer circular, mid-inclination orbit. The mission, named “A Sky Full Of SARs,” was a dedicated commercial launch for Capella—not a consumer satellite service announcement.

What Rocket Lab launched

Electron carried Acadia-3, a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite operated by Capella Space. Rocket Lab described the flight as a dedicated mission for Capella, which provides SAR imagery data and solutions for government and commercial applications. Rocket Lab’s mission page reports liftoff at 13:18 UTC on 11 August 2024 from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand and placement into a circular, mid-inclination orbit at 615 km.

Space.com reported that deployment took place about 57 minutes after liftoff. It counted the flight as Rocket Lab’s 10th mission of 2024 and 52nd orbital mission overall.

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How Acadia-3’s radar imaging works

SAR builds images using radar signals rather than relying on sunlight reflected from the ground. That allows radar imaging at night and through cloud cover, conditions that can limit optical Earth observation. Space.com describes Capella’s satellites as able to return imagery in all weather, day or night.

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Capella’s current Acadia-class overview lists 600 MHz bandwidth and extended imaging time per orbit. These are Capella’s stated capabilities for the satellite class; they are not independent measurements of Acadia-3’s performance. SAR capability alone also does not establish a particular image’s resolution, delivery time, coverage, or access terms.

Why this flight mattered to Capella and Rocket Lab

The launch added a spacecraft to Capella’s low Earth orbit SAR constellation. Rocket Lab called it the company’s fifth launch overall for Capella, in a launch relationship whose contracts began in 2020. It was therefore part of an ongoing commercial launch arrangement, rather than an isolated technology demonstration.

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Rocket Lab’s 2024 mission page called Capella “a provider of SAR imagery data and solutions for government and commercial applications.” Capella’s current site presents Acadia within a broader space-systems business that includes SAR constellation solutions. The reviewed company materials do not identify a particular customer order or an image product produced by Acadia-3 after deployment, so the launch should not be treated as evidence of a specific customer outcome.

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Mission facts at a glance

  • Mission: “A Sky Full Of SARs”
  • Launch vehicle: Rocket Lab Electron
  • Payload: Capella Space’s Acadia-3 SAR Earth-imaging satellite
  • Launch: 11 August 2024, 13:18 UTC, from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand
  • Reported orbit: Circular, mid-inclination, 615 km
  • Mission count: Rocket Lab’s 10th mission of 2024 and 52nd orbital mission overall, as reported by Space.com
  • Alternate name: Next Spaceflight lists “Capella-13,” but Rocket Lab identifies the payload as Acadia-3; Acadia-3 is the clearer name to use.

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