HawkEye 360: Third Satellite Cluster Reaches Orbit in 2026

Rocket Lab launched three Hawk satellites for Virginia-based HawkEye 360 from its New Zealand site at 3:11 a.m. EDT on Oct. 23 (0711 GMT, 8:11 p.m. local). The Electron rocket carried the payload for the mission named "We're Not Hawking Around." Rocket Lab described the spacecraft's role in its mission summary: "Operating in clusters of three, HawkEye 360's satellites collect signal data from across the RF spectrum for maritime tracking, GNSS jamming detection, radar monitoring, communications mapping and space defense."

The three satellites are slated for release into low Earth orbit at 323 miles (520 kilometers), where they will be commissioned before scanning for radio frequency emissions. HawkEye 360 supplies this data to the U.S. government and its allies. The company says the aim is "to enable faster, better decision-making." It also states: "Our space-based collection, proprietary signal processing and AI-powered analytics transform knowledge of the RF spectrum into a strategic advantage."

HawkEye 360's first satellites launched in 2018, and the company has placed nearly 50 spacecraft in low Earth orbit. This deployment came two days after three other Hawk satellites flew aboard SpaceX's Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission.

The mission was Rocket Lab's 98th launch overall and its 19th of 2026. Sixteen of this year's flights used the two-stage, 59-foot-tall Electron. The other three used HASTE, a suborbital Electron variant for hypersonic technology tests.