- Rocket Lab will fly 12 suborbital launch vehicles from Alaska’s Pacific Spaceport Complex
- In 2023, the company introduced HASTE for suborbital testing missions
- The Space Force is obligating $112 million in fiscal 2025 funds
Rocket Lab has secured a $266 million firm-fixed-price contract from the Space Force to conduct suborbital launches from Alaska. The company will fly 12 suborbital launch vehicles under the deal, with an option for six more, the Department of War said Tuesday.
Work will take place at the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska and is scheduled for completion by Dec. 31, 2028. The Space Systems Command’s contracting office at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, awarded the contract following three offers in a competitive acquisition. The service is obligating $112 million in fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds at the time of the award.
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What Suborbital Launch Capabilities Does Rocket Lab Bring?
The Long Beach, California-based company has built out a suborbital testing business around its Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron vehicle, or HASTE, a testbed derived from its Electron small rocket. Rocket Lab introduced HASTE in 2023 and has used it to support hypersonic test flights for government customers, including work tied to the Defense Innovation Unit and the Missile Defense Agency’s Targets and Countermeasures program.
How Does the Award Fit Rocket Lab’s Broader Government Work?
The suborbital contract adds to a widening federal portfolio. NASA selected Rocket Lab in June to launch two Sun and Earth science missions aboard Electron rockets, and the company has pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy — acquiring space robotics firm Motiv Space Systems in May and agreeing to buy satellite communications operator Iridium in an approximately $8 billion cash-and-stock deal announced the same month. Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said at the time that the Iridium purchase would enable the company to enter new markets by pairing Iridium’s spectrum and network with Rocket Lab’s launch and manufacturing capabilities.
