Technology Demo
LOXSAT (Electron)
LOXSAT is an on-orbit technology demonstration of cryogenic fluid management for in-space propellant depots. It tests 11 cryogenic fluid management technologies covering boil-off, propellant transfer, tank pressure and propellant gauging in microgravity. The spacecraft is built on a Rocket Lab Photon satellite bus and Eta Space built the payload.
- Operator
- Eta Space (payload) with Rocket Lab (spacecraft bus and launch), under a NASA Tipping Point agreement
- Launch vehicle
- Electron
- Launch site
- Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
- Target orbit
- Low Earth orbit
- Duration
- Nine months
- Schedule
- NASA lists the launch as no earlier than July 17, 2026. Rocket Lab's own mission page says only that it is targeted for 2026.
Primary source: nasa.gov. Facts checked on 2026-10-10. Dates are the operator's targets and can change; this page does not report launch outcomes.