It was the second liftoff attempt for “Bridging the Swarm.” The first, on Dec. 15, ended with a last-second abort<\/a>. And even that try was delayed a bit; Rocket Lab had originally targeted Dec. 10 but pushed things back to perform additional checkouts.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n \n The Electron’s first stage falls back toward Earth during the launch of South Korea’s NEONSAT-1A satellite from New Zealand on Jan. 29, 2026. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)<\/p>\n “Bridging the Swarm” lofted a single payload for the Satellite Technology Research Center (SaTReC) at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That payload is NEONSAT-1A, “an advanced Earth-observation satellite<\/a> equipped with a high-resolution optical camera,” Rocket Lab wrote in a mission description<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Designed to capture near-real time natural disaster monitoring for the Korean peninsula, KAIST’s NEONSAT constellation is a collaboration across multiple Korean academic, industry and research institutions, including SaTReC, which is leading the program’s system design and engineering,” the company added.<\/p>\n NEONSAT is not a constellation yet. Previously, just one satellite in the program had reached low Earth orbit<\/a> \u2014 NEONSAT-1, which flew atop an Electron in April 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n The NEONSAT program is funded by the Korean government \u2014 namely, the Ministry of Science and ICT. (ICT stands for “Information and Communication Technology.”)<\/p>\n MISSION SUCCESS! Payload deployment is confirmed for the \u2018Bridging The Swarm\u2019 mission for @KAISTPR.\u2705 2nd launch in 8 days\u2705 81st launch in total\u2705 100% mission success in 2026 pic.twitter.com\/flTtuPvKAIJanuary 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n All went to plan on Thursday’s launch: The Electron’s “kick stage” deployed NEONSAT-1A<\/a> about 54 minutes after launch, setting it free 336 miles (540 kilometers) above our planet.<\/p>\n “Bridging The Swarm” was Rocket Lab’s second launch of 2026<\/a> and its 81st overall to date. The company launched 21 missions last year, setting a new Rocket Lab record.<\/p>\n Editor’s note: This story was updated at 8:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 29 with news of successful liftoff, then again at 12:25 a.m. ET on Jan. 30 with news of payload deploy.<\/p>\n![\"view](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/F9ZktDkqmNhhNZLfmuytwA.jpg\")
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