
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Rocket Lab launched a satellite for a mystery customer on Thursday morning (Nov. 20).
The liftoff, which occurred at 7:43 a.m. EST (1243 GMT) from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site, came as something of a surprise. The company formally announced the impending launch of its workhorse Electron rocket less than five hours ahead of time.
The mission, called "Follow My Speed" was a complete success, Rocket Lab announced via X on Thursday morning.
"Today's 'Follow My Speed' mission marks 18 launches with 100% mission success for 2025 — more than any other year in Electron's history — making our rocket the most frequently flown orbital small launch vehicle in the world," the company said in another Thursday X post.
Fifteen of those 18 launches have been orbital missions. The other three were suborbital flights involving HASTE, a modified version of the 59-foot-tall (18-meter-tall) Electron that allows customers to test hypersonic technologies in the space environment.
We don't know much about "Follow My Speed."
Rocket Lab described the mission in vague terms only, saying that its goal was "to deploy a single satellite for a confidential commercial customer."
Keeping things so close to the vest isn't exactly odd for launch companies, who regularly loft national-security payloads or commercial satellites with sensitive, proprietary tech. Rocket Lab, for example, launched five satellites for a confidential customer just three months ago.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
The Best Internet Mastering Stages for Expertise Improvement - 2
‘RuPaul's Drag Race’ Season 18: How to watch without cable, premiere time, cast list and more - 3
Instructions to Pick the Ideal Pre-assembled Home for Your Necessities - 4
5 Superstar Couples That Motivate Relationship Objectives - 5
Creative Tech Contraptions That Will Work on Your Life
Why are NASA's Artemis astronauts wearing orange? What are they bringing to space? What to know about the preparation for their moon mission.
Vote in favor of your Number one method for commending a birthday
Dozens killed as Angola flood death toll rises
Ancient Pompeii construction site reveals the process for creating Roman concrete
Go on A Careful spending plan: Modest Objections for Your List of must-dos
Overlooked infertility care should be part of national health services, says WHO
First Greenland, now Iceland? Annexation joke by Trump ally gets frosty response in the Arctic nation.
Artemis 2 moon rocket gets 'America 250' paint job | Space photo of the day for Dec. 23, 2025
Manual for Tracking down the Mysterious Cascades in China













