Rocket Lab launches mystery satellite for 'confidential commercial customer' (video)
火箭实验室为“机密商业客户”发射神秘卫星（视频）
Rocket Lab launched a satellite for a mystery customer on Thursday morning (Nov. 20).
火箭实验室于周四上午（11月20日）为一位神秘客户发射了一颗卫星。
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.
火箭实验室周四上午通过X宣布，这项名为“跟随我的速度”的任务取得了圆满成功。
"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.
Rocket Lab described the mission in vague terms only, saying that its goal was "to deploy a single satellite for a confidential commercial customer."
火箭实验室仅用模糊的术语描述了此次任务，称其目标是“为机密商业客户部署一颗卫星”。
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.
