The satellites were deployed into low Earth orbit<\/a>, at an altitude of 336 miles (540 kilometers), a little under an hour after launch as planned, Rocket Lab announced via X<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below <\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n \n View from the upper stage of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket during the “Kakushin Rising” launch on April 22, 2026. The first stage is visible falling back to Earth. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)<\/p>\n “Kakuchin Rising” is the second of two contracted Electron missions for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA<\/a>) Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The first such flight, which Rocket Lab called “RAISE and Shine,” occurred last December<\/a>. It sent JAXA’s Rapid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite-4, known as RAISE-4, to low Earth orbit<\/a> to test a variety of technologies.<\/p>\n The eight satellites flying on “Kakuchin Rising” are a diverse bunch. They include “educational smallsats, an ocean monitoring satellite<\/a>, a demonstration satellite for ultra-small multispectral cameras, and a deployable antenna that can be packed tightly using origami folding techniques and unfurled to 25 times its size,” Rocket Lab wrote in a mission description<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Kakuchin Rising” was the 79th launch to date for the 59-foot-tall (18-meter-tall) Electron, which gives small satellites dedicated rides to Earth orbit and beyond.<\/p>\n![\"View](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AoAXh5Ar7niWYrZYccHhd8.jpg\")
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