Rocket Lab launched its Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1, Pad B on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula at 0410 UTC on Aug. 5, deploying the QPS-SAR-12 satellite (nicknamed Kushinada-I), into a planned 575 kilometers circular Earth orbit. The 'The Harvest Goddess Thrives' mission marked Rocket Lab's fifth dedicated launch for the Japanese Earth-imaging company iQPS (Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc.) and the 69th overall Electron flight.

Following main engine cutoff(MECO) and second engine cutoff(SECO), the Electron's Kick stage deployed Kushinada-I into a circular orbit 575 kilometers above Earth about 54 minutes after launch, as announced by Rocket Lab announced via X.

As its formal name suggests, QPS-SAR-12 is the 12th iQPS satellite to reach orbit. The Japanese company aims to operate a constellation of 36 SAR spacecraft, which can peer through clouds and study Earth's surface at night as well as during the day.

The QPS-SAR-12 satellite enhances iQPS’s SAR constellation, which aims to revolutionize industries by providing high-resolution data for urban safety, security, agriculture, and economic analytics. The constellation’s ability to image through clouds and at night supports continuous near-real-time global monitoring, capable of imaging both stationary and moving objects (e.g., vehicles, ships, livestock) with revisit times of approximately 10 minutes.

"The data gathered by QPS-SAR constellation has the potential to revolutionize industries and reshape the future," Rocket Lab wrote in the mission's press kit, which you can find here. "By leveraging insights from moving object data, iQPS can unlock new economic value, enhance urban safety and security, and provide predictive analytics for agriculture, national economies, and regional markets when integrated with weather, market, and economic data."

The 'The Harvest Goddess Thrives' mission was the fifth dedicated launch for iQPS, following previous missions named 'The Moon God Awakens,' 'The Lightning God Reigns,' 'The Sea God Sees,' and 'The Mountain God Guards.'

President Donald Trump praised the American Eagle advertisement campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, stating she is a registered Republican and calling the ad "the HOTTEST ad out there" in a Truth Social post Monday. He highlighted other figures and brands he associates with "woke" messaging, including pop singer Taylor Swift, and Jaguar and Bud Light, claiming their ad campaigns were disastrous and led to massive financial losses.

The American Eagle ad, launched July 23, features Sweeney in a denim campaign with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” playing on the homophone “jeans” and “genes.” In the ad, Sweeney says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue,” as the camera highlights her blue eyes.

The ad’s controversy led to a 20%+ surge in American Eagle’s stock, reversing a prior slump, with shares up 17-23% by mid-afternoon. American Eagle defended the campaign, stating on Instagram, “‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story.” Sweeney has not publicly commented on the backlash or her voter registration.

The ad sparked 'woke' far-left hysteria, with some critics alleging the ad promotes eugenics or white supremacist undertones due to its focus on Sweeney’s blonde hair and blue eyes, while supporters, including Trump, celebrated it as a pushback against “woke” culture which promotes abortion, ugly and fat women.

Supporters like Vice President JD Vance and Senator Ted Cruz mocked critics, with Vance joking on the Ruthless podcast, “My political advice to the Democrats is continue to tell everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi.” The campaign’s viral nature boosted American Eagle’s visibility, with Google Trends showing peak search interest in over 20 years, though its impact on sales remains unclear pending upcoming earnings reports.

Trump’s endorsement came after reports, that Sweeney registered as a Republican in Monroe County, Florida, in June 2024, around the time she purchased a $13.5 million home in the Florida Keys. He expressed delight upon learning this, saying on Sunday, to reporters in Pennsylvania, “She’s a registered Republican? Oh, now I love her ad… You’d be surprised how many people are Republicans.”

The President used the ad's success to argue against what he described as "woke" corporate messaging, contrasting it with the perceived failures of other brands. He criticized Jaguar for a "stupid, and seriously WOKE advertisement" from 2024, which he claimed led to the resignation of its CEO, Adrian Mardell, and caused "absolute turmoil" within the company He also referenced Bud Light's 2023 partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, asserting that the campaign "went Woke and essentially destroyed, in a short campaign, the Company," resulting in "BILLIONS OF DOLLARS SO FOOLISHLY LOST"

"Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the 'HOTTEST' ad out there," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are 'flying of the shelves.' Go get ‘em Sydney! On the other side of the ledger, Jaguar did a stupid, and seriously WOKE advertisement, THAT IS A TOTAL DISASTER! The CEO just resigned in disgrace, and the company is in absolute turmoil. Who wants to buy a Jaguar after looking at that disgraceful ad. Shouldn’t they have learned a lesson from Bud Lite, which went Woke and essentially destroyed, in a short campaign, the Company. The market cap destruction has been unprecedented, with BILLIONS OF DOLLARS SO FOOLISHLY LOST. Or just look at Woke singer Taylor Swift. Ever since I alerted the world as to what she was by saying on TRUTH that I can’t stand her (HATE!). She was booed out of the Super Bowl and became, NO LONGER HOT. The tide has seriously turned — Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Swift was booed at the Super Bowl last year while attending the game to support her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce against the Eagles. Some fans booed when she was shown on the Jumbotron, while Trump who also attended was met with a roaring applause.

Meanwhile Dunkin’ Donuts is also facing 'woke' far-left backlash for a new advertisement featuring actor Gavin Casalegno, which has reignited a cultural debate following the controversy surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad.

The ad, released on July 29, sparked criticism for its use of the term "genetics" in reference to Casalegno’s tan, drawing immediate comparisons to the previous controversy and leading to accusations of promoting racial or eugenic ideals.

The 35-second commercial promotes the chain’s Golden Hour Refresher drink and features Casalegno, known for his role in "The Summer I Turned Pretty," attributing his "golden" tan to his "genetics" and jokingly calling himself the "King of Summer."  The ad has been widely criticized by far-leftists on social media platforms like TikTok and X. Critics have linked the ad’s language to the ongoing debate over the American Eagle campaign, with some accusing Dunkin’ of capitalizing on the controversy.

Blue Origin New Shepard launched its NS-34 mission from the company's West Texas spaceport at 1243 UTC on Aug, sending six individuals to suborbital space above the Kármán line(100 kilometers).

The passengers include crypto billionaire Justin Sun, 34, Indian-born American real estate investor and adventurer Arvinder (Arvi) Singh Bahal; Turkish businessman and photographer Gökhan Erdem; Deborah Martorell, a journalist and meteorologist from Puerto Rico; Englishman Lionel Pitchford, who has run an orphanage in Nepal for three decades; and American entrepreneur James (J.D.) Russell.

"It was an honor to see so many nations represented on our flight today,” Blue Origin's Phil Joyce, senior vice president, New Shepard, said in a postflight statement. "The view of our fragile planet from space has a unifying effect on all who witness it, and I am always eager to see how our astronauts use this experience for the benefit of Earth."

During the 10 to 12 minutes mission, the six passengers experience a few minutes of weightlessness above the Kármán line.

Sun who founded the blockchain platform Tron, anonymously won a $28 million auction in June 2021, for a seat aboard the first-ever crewed flight of New Shepard. A scheduling conflict kept him from joining that landmark flight, which took place on July 20, 2021 — the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The passengers that day were Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, aviation pioneer Wally Funk and Dutch student Oliver Daemen.

All six NS-34 passengers were spaceflight rookies except Russell, who flew on Blue Origin's NS-28 mission in November 2024.

NS-34 was the 14th human spaceflight to date for New Shepard, which is a reusable rocket booster-crew capsule combo. The propulsion module or booster comes back to Earth for a vertical, powered touchdown like those performed by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets(though not as capable as the Falcon 9), and the crew capsule lands softly under parachutes.