Space News reports, “Rocket Lab will establish a new launch site in Alaska under a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract for up to 18 suborbital missions, expanding the company’s role in military launch services as the Pentagon seeks more capacity for weapons testing.”
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Tag: Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab Completes Ninth Launch Mission for Synspective
Aviation News reports, “Rocket Lab has successfully launched its ninth dedicated mission for the Japanese Earth observation company Synspective, deploying a new StriX radar satellite into orbit. Originating from New Zealand, this latest launch reinforces one of the most reliable commercial partnerships in the small satellite sector.”
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Rocket Lab Enters Golden Dome Missile Defense Program with Raytheon
Aerotime reports, “Rocket Lab Corporation announced that, in partnership with Raytheon, it has been selected to demonstrate advanced capabilities for the United States Space Force’s Space Based Interceptor program, a central building block of the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense architecture.”
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Rocket Lab Launches Eight Japanese Satellites, Including Origami-Inspired Payload
SPACE reports, “Rocket Lab sent eight Japanese satellites to orbit from New Zealand on Wednesday night (April 22), including one with a unique “origami” construction. An Electron vehicle launched the “Kakuchin Rising” mission from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site on Wednesday at 11:09 p.m. EDT (0309 GMT and 3:19 p.m. local New Zealand time on Thursday, April 23).”
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Rocket Lab’s Growth Streak Continues, but Neutron Timeline Slips
Via Satellite reports, “Rocket Lab reached a new record for revenue and annual launches in 2025, but its sunny financial progress was clouded by another delay for the first Neutron launch. Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck told investors on Thursday that after a stage 1 tank ruptured during testing in January, Rocket Lab uncovered a manufacturing defect in the tank. The company is making minor design changes to the first stage tank, which will now have to undergo a test and qualification campaign. This pushes the first launch to the fourth quarter of this year. ”
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Rocket Lab Launches South Korean Disaster-Monitoring Satellite After Delay
SPACE reports, “Rocket Lab launched a South Korean disaster-monitoring satellite from New Zealand on Thursday (Jan. 29), about six weeks later than originally planned. A 59-foot-tall (18-meter-tall) Electron rocket launched the ‘Bridging the Swarm’ mission from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site on Thursday at 8:21 p.m. EST (0121 GMT and 2:21 p.m. local New Zealand time on Jan. 30).”
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Video
Rocket Lab launches the “Bridging the Swarm” mission from New Zealand. (Launch occurs at the 52:02 mark)
Space Affairs; YouTube
Rocket Lab Sends First Open Cosmos Satellites Into Polar Orbit
Space News reports, “A Rocket Lab Electron launched the first satellites for a new constellation being developed by Open Cosmos that will use spectrum previously assigned to Rivada Space Networks. The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 5:52 a.m. Eastern Jan. 22. It deployed two satellites into a circular polar orbit at an altitude of about 1,050 kilometers one hour and nine minutes after liftoff.”
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Video
RocketLab Electron Launch from New Zealand (Launch takes place at the 23:07 mark)
The Launch Pad | YouTube
Rocket Lab Closes Record-Breaking Year With Successful Electron Launch
Space News reports, “Rocket Lab successfully launched a Japanese radar imaging satellite Dec. 21 in the final flight of a record-setting year for the company. An Electron rocket lifted off at 1:36 a.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The rocket deployed its payload, the QPS-SAR-15 satellite for Japanese company iQPS, into a 575-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 42 degrees about 50 minutes later. The satellite later made contact with controllers, iQPS said.”
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Rocket Lab Launches STP-S30 DiskSat Mission From Wallops Island
Via Satellite reports, “A Rocket Lab Electron rocket carrying the Pentagon’s Space Test Program (STP) S30 mission lifted off from the Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia, on Thursday, according to U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. S30 has four research and development, Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) DiskSat satellites, funded by NASA and developed by Aerospace Corp. as an alternative to cube satellites.”
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Video
Rocket Lab Electron launches Space Test Program (STP) S30 mission (Launch occurs at the 49:44 mark)
NASASpaceFlight; YouTube
Rocket Lab Readies Electron for Space Force–NASA DiskSat Test Flight
Space News reports, “A U.S. Space Force and NASA experiment is set to launch later this week to test a new small-satellite architecture designed for operations in very low Earth orbit. Four flat, disk-shaped satellites known as DiskSats are scheduled to launch no earlier than 12:00 a.m. Eastern on Dec. 18 aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia. The mission, designated STP-S30, was accelerated from an initial target of spring 2026.”
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