Rocket Lab Electron launched its 98th Electron mission on Friday(Oct. 23) at 0711 UTC, from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, deploying three HAWK satellites for HawkEye 360 into a 520-kilometer low Earth orbit. The "We're Not Hawking Around" mission marks Rocket Lab’s 19th launch of the year.

The rocket carried three HAWK satellites designed for HawkEye 360, a Virginia-based signals intelligence company. They operate in clusters of three to scan the globe for radio frequency (RF) emissions, utilizing Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) and Frequency Difference of Arrival (FDOA) processing.

The collected data supports maritime tracking, GNSS jamming detection, radar monitoring, communications mapping, and space defense for the U.S. government and its allies.

"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," Rocket Lab wrote in a mission description.

HawkEye 360 provides this data to the U.S. government and its allies "to enable faster, better decision-making," according to the company. "Our space-based collection, proprietary signal processing and AI-powered analytics transform knowledge of the RF spectrum into a strategic advantage."

This deployment is the third dedicated Electron launch for HawkEye 360 since 2023, adding to the company’s nearly 50 satellites in orbit since its first launch in 2018.

Friday's flight represents Rocket Lab’s 98th launch to date, bringing the company closer to the milestone of 100 Electron launches. The company has executed 16 Electron missions and three suborbital HASTE flights this year, demonstrating high turnaround speed and production rates.

The mission underscores Rocket Lab’s trusted role in scaling commercial constellations for defense and commercial customers, following a previous HawkEye 360 launch on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-5 mission just two days prior.

Netherlands Defense Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) obtained access to President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner's hacked iPhone, after recruiting a Russian military intelligence(GRU)'s operative, revealing secret negotiations and financial transfers involving Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ).

In late 2017, after capturing the GRU hacker, a dark-web specialist in stolen banking data, traveling to the United Kingdom, MIVD sought and received British permission to intercept him upon arrival, gained access to a Russian server containing screenshots of Kushner’s iPhone, then reverse-engineered the vulnerability to monitor his screen activity starting in early 2018.

A tip in 2020, reportedly revealed that via the hacked Kushner’s phone, Dutch intelligence observed him accessing a Dubai-based bank account holding hundreds of millions of dollars that had originated from a bank in Azerbaijan. He reportedly appeared to have moved substantial sums from that account to various individuals, including a warlord, a mercenary, and a former hit man.

Intelligence reportedly showed Kushner accessing secret bank accounts funded with at least $2 billion by MBS and MBZ, including an account at First Abu Dhabi Bank and another linked to Israel’s Central Bank.

The account sat at the intersection of several overlapping ambitions. MBZ reportedly wanted the Trump administration to abandon the Iran nuclear deal; MBS) sought help securing his position as crown prince; and Kushner hoped to advance an Israeli-Palestinian arrangement acceptable to Israel while his family’s real-estate company faced a looming billion-dollar debt on 666 Fifth Avenue.

The hacking allegedly revealed over $700 million in transfers, with funds routed through an Azerbaijani bank to a UAE charity account under the nominal ownership of the Watani Al Emarat Foundation, run by Dherar Belhoul Al Falasi, which Kushner allegedly used to pay for covert operations involving a warlord, a mercenary, and a hitman. The charity also served as a cover for sensitive military and intelligence expenditures.

Kushner and his legal team have categorically denied the claims as "completely insane" and "outrageous fabrications," stating no such bank accounts exist and noting that none of these events surfaced during previous congressional or special counsel investigations.

Tesla reported its third quarter (Q3 2026) revenue of $28.05 billion, slightly beating estimates, while non-GAAP EPS of $0.48 exceeded the $0.43 consensus, despite a 56% year-over-year drop in operating income due to heavy spending on AI and Optimus humanoid robots.

Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles, with CEO Elon Musk saying demand is "exceeding production by a significant margin," driven largely by Full Self-Driving (FSD) interest. While core automotive revenue fell 3% to $20.56 billion, services and other revenue surged 33% to $4.61 billion, hitting a record gross profit.

“We believe that FSD is driving demand in markets where it is available, and we continue to work with regulators to get it approved in other markets,” the company said in its investor deck.

Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s vice president of Autopilot, said on the earnings call that the company plans to give some customer cars access to its forthcoming FSD (Unsupervised) systems around the second quarter of next year.

Auto gross margins rebounded to 18.1%, and overall gross margin expanded by 160 basis points to 19.6%, though high R&D costs suppressed net income.

The Cybercab, Tesla’s two-seat autonomous robotaxi, launched unsupervised service in Austin, Texas, with the fleet growing by a factor of 10 since launch.

Tesla plans to expand the Cybercab fleet to Dallas in November and other cities by year-end, with the Robotaxi service expected to contribute financially in 2027. Musk clarified that the Cybercab will primarily operate as a Tesla-owned transport-as-a-service, distinct from consumer vehicles like the Model 3 and Model Y.

The vehicle utilizes 50% fewer parts than other Tesla models, with production ramping at Giga Texas to support both internal fleet needs and future customer deliveries.

“It’s not like going to move the needle this quarter,” Musk said, “I think it starts to become noticeable in Q2 and then probably a big deal by Q3 or Q4 of next year.”

Barring regulatory intervention and protectionism, Musk predicted that Tesla “will end up doing a majority of all passenger miles on Earth in any country where it is allowed to operate freely.”

Tesla maintains its target of 5 million vehicles per year by 2030, with new factories in Berlin and Reno (Semi) supporting this expansion.

Optimus humanoid robots have entered production, with Musk noting that the AI architecture is still being refined to handle open-ended tasks without pre-programmed exoskeletons. Tesla aims to ship Optimus to customers in about a year, targeting an annualized production rate of 20,000 units per week by mid-2027.

An Optimus video demonstrating non-preprogrammed tasks is expected within a month, and the Tesla AI5 chip integration is slated for April 2027.

Capital expenditure for Optimus and AI compute is rising, with Musk highlighting the massive scale of the Terafab chip plant, which will cost tens of billions in equipment shared with SpaceX.

Tesla returned to positive free cash flow of $1.53 billion, down from $3.99 billion in the prior year, while maintaining $45.4 billion in cash and investments. Musk lowered the annual capital spending forecast to about $20 billion, down from the previous $25 billion+ guidance, citing efficiency in current projects.