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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.
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