Long Beach, California. 05 November, 2024. Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today successfully launched its 54th Electron mission, deploying a single satellite to Low Earth Orbit for a confidential commercial customer.

The ‘Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes’ mission launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand at 11:54 pm on November 5th, 2024. The mission was Rocket Lab’s 12th Electron launch this year, continuing to best the Company’s previous record of 10 annual launches achieved in 2023. Electron remains the world’s third most frequently launched rocket annually by vehicle type, and the United States’ second most frequently launched rocket annually.

Today’s mission was launched less than ten weeks from the mission’s launch contract signing, making it one of the Company’s fastest turnarounds yet from contract to launch. Historically it was typical to take years from contract signing to launch, causing bottlenecks and limited launch opportunities for satellite operators. Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket revolutionized this by making it possible for customers to book and launch in just weeks, enabling them to test technologies faster, begin generating revenue from constellations earlier, or gather urgent data from orbit at near on-demand timelines. This business model is enabled by standardized rapid production of Electron launch vehicles, responsive launch sites, proven and established launch systems, and an experienced team capable of delivering rapid call-up launch year-round.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: “Another successful launch showcasing all the best attributes of the Rocket Lab team and Electron: a streamlined process from contract to orbit, pinpoint deployment accuracy, and a responsive service tailored exactly to the customer’s needs. Now 12 for 12 this year across commercial, civil, and national security missions, I’m proud of the team for delivering launch after launch as we continue to deliver a record year across launch and space systems.”

Source: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced the Company has been selected by NASA to complete a study for retrieving rock samples from the Martian surface and bringing them to Earth for the first time. The mission would fulfill some of the highest priority solar system exploration goals for the science community – to revolutionize humanity’s understanding of Mars, potentially answer whether life ever existed on the Martian surface, and help prepare for the first human explorers to the Red Planet.

NASA’s Rapid Mission Design Studies for Mars Sample Return solicits industry proposals to carry out rapid studies of mission designs and mission elements capable of delivering samples collected by the Mars Perseverance rover from the surface of Mars to Earth. The results of this study will inform a potential update to NASA’s Mars Sample Return Program and may result in future procurements with industry. Rocket Lab’s study will explore a simplified, end-to-end mission concept that would be delivered for a fraction of the current projected program cost and completed several years earlier than the current expected sample return date in 2040.

“Retrieving samples from Mars is one of the most ambitious and scientifically important endeavors humanity has ever embarked upon. We’ve developed an innovative mission concept to make it happen affordably and on an accelerated schedule,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck. “Rocket Lab has been methodically implementing a strategy for cost-effective planetary science in recent years, making us uniquely suited to deliver a low cost, rapid Mars Sample Return. We’ve demonstrated this strategy by delivering a NASA mission to the Moon, enabling rendezvous and proximity operations in orbit, successfully re-entering a capsule from orbit to Earth, delivering two spacecraft to NASA for a Mars mission, and much more. We look forward to bringing our proven capabilities together to deliver a compelling, innovative mission solution that puts Mars rocks in the hands of scientists sooner.”

Rocket Lab’s proposed mission architecture will be revealed once the study is complete in the coming months.

Source: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, has successfully packed and shipped two Mars-bound spacecraft to Cape Canaveral, FL in preparation for launch. These twin spacecraft for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) heliophysics mission were designed, built, integrated, and tested by Rocket Lab for the University of California Berkeley’s Space Science Laboratory and NASA.

The spacecraft, known as Blue and Gold, recently completed comprehensive assembly, integration, and test at Rocket Lab’s Spacecraft Production Complex and headquarters in Long Beach, California. Following this milestone, the Rocket Lab team conducted final closeout activities, including the installation of spacecraft solar arrays and multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets, before they were packaged and shipped to Florida for launch.

Upon arrival at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex, Rocket Lab team members will transfer the spacecraft to a cleanroom for post-transport inspections and tests. Following thorough checks, the team will commence preparation for fueling the spacecraft in anticipation of their upcoming launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.

“We’ve already been to the Moon for NASA, so we’re excited to build on that and send Rocket Lab technology deeper into the solar system, this time to the Red Planet,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck. “Our Space Systems team has built a beautiful and highly capable pair of spacecraft to help NASA and the University of California Berkeley further humanity’s understanding of Mars. We couldn’t be prouder to be an ESCAPADE mission partner enabling science and exploration missions beyond our planet. After a meticulous but speedy build and test phase, we’re excited to have Blue and Gold on their way to the Cape and a step closer to Mars.”

"The successful delivery of the spacecraft to Kennedy Space Center marks a significant milestone and the culmination of over three years of dedicated teamwork from individuals across the project, especially our partners at Rocket Lab,” said Rob Lillis, ESCAPADE Principal Investigator and Associate Director for Planetary Science at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory. “Interplanetary spacecraft must be much more resilient than earth satellites, and developing not one, but two of these probes almost from scratch was no small feat. Time and again, Rocket Lab’s agility and tireless efforts have impressed me, exemplified by their frequent 'hero mode' (a saying we have on the project) to troubleshoot and keep the project on course. We couldn’t ask for better partners in this endeavor. Now, we’re thrilled to embark on this first step of our journey to Mars!"

Once launched, the ESCAPADE mission will measure plasma and magnetic fields around the Red Planet. These observations will help scientists unravel the processes that strip atoms from Mars’ magnetosphere and upper atmosphere, offering critical insights into Martian climate evolution.

About the ESCAPADE Mission

NASA’s ESCAPADE is a NASA heliophysics mission that will study Mars’ magnetosphere – the magnetized area of space around the planet – using two identical small spacecraft, which will provide simultaneous two-point observations. The spacecraft will help provide researchers a better understanding of how the magnetosphere interacts with the solar wind, and how energy and plasma enter and leave the magnetosphere. ESCAPADE is part of the NASA Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration program. The mission is managed by the University of California Berkley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, with key partners Rocket Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Advanced Space LLC and Blue Origin.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is a global leader in launch and space systems. Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle is the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered more than 190 satellites to orbit for commercial and Government partners, including NASA, the U.S. Air Force, DARPA and the NRO. Rocket Lab also delivers proven suborbital hypersonic launch capability with its HASTE launch vehicle. Building on the deep heritage of Electron, Rocket Lab is developing Neutron, an advanced 13-tonne payload class, reusable launch vehicle tailored for constellation deployment and interplanetary missions. Rocket Lab is also a premier supplier of advanced satellites, flight-proven subsystems and spacecraft components. At a component level, Rocket Lab spacecraft technology spans space solar power, composite structures, flight software, star trackers, reaction wheels, separation systems, and more. Rocket Lab satellite technology and components have been integrated into more than 1,700 satellite missions globally.

Source: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it has successfully hot fired its new rocket engine Archimedes for the first time, reaching a critical technical milestone toward first launch of the Company’s new medium-lift rocket, Neutron.

Rocket Lab’s engineers completed the hot fire test at the Company’s Engine Test Complex within NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi, in August 2024. Archimedes performed well and ticked off several key test objectives, including reaching 102% power, anchoring the engine’s design ahead of Neutron’s first flight scheduled for mid-2025 – a schedule that would make Neutron the fastest a commercially developed medium-class launch vehicle has been brought to market. With the hot fire complete and full qualification campaign now underway, the Rocket Lab team is moving into full production of flight engines.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: “Hot firing Archimedes is a major development milestone for Neutron and our team has done it on an accelerated timeline. Taking a new staged combustion liquid rocket engine from cleansheet design to hot fire in just a couple of years is industry-leading stuff. We’ve been consistently impressed with the performance of Archimedes in test, including with this hot fire, so with this critical milestone completed, we move into production of flight engines confidently and begin to close out the qualification test campaign in parallel to really hone performance for launch next year. From the day we started designing Archimedes we focused on delivering a flight engine, rather than early-stage prototype destined for multiple reworks and adjustments, so it's gratifying to see this strategy bear fruit.”

The Archimedes engine will power Rocket Lab’s new reusable medium-lift rocket Neutron, a next-generation challenger to deliver a cost-effective, reliable, and responsive launch service for commercial and government missions. The advanced design of Neutron includes carbon composite for all of the rocket’s major structures and an innovative upper stage that enables high-performance for complex satellite deployments, including the deployment of satellite mega-constellations.

The Archimedes engine is an oxidizer rich staged combustion cycle engine that will power the reusable first stage of Neutron and the new rocket’s second stage that is designed to carry up to 13,000 kilograms of payload to space. Capable of producing up to 165,000 (733 kilonewtons) pounds of thrust per engine, Archimedes operates at lower stress levels than other rocket engines to enable rapid and reliable reusability. The combined thrust of nine Archimedes engines for Neutron’s first stage is designed to reach 1,450,000 lbf total. Archimedes uses a cryogenic propellant mix of liquid oxygen and LNG to enable higher reusability and performance, and many of its critical components are 3D printed including Archimedes’ turbo pump housings, pre-burner and main chamber components, valve housings, and engine structural components.

Production of the Archimedes engines takes place at Rocket Lab’s Engine Development Complex at its headquarters in Long Beach, California.

Source: Rocket Lab