Rocket Lab inks new deal to launch HASTE mission from Virginia

Written by Copernical Team Wednesday, 09 August 2023 13:25

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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 09, 2023

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has signed a new launch services agreement with a confidential customer for a HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) mission from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in 2024. The contract signing with a new customer came just days after Rocket Lab successfully launched the

Commercial UAV Expo | Sept 5-7, 2023 | Las Vegas

Rocket Lab inks new deal to launch HASTE mission from Virginia
by Staff Writers
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 09, 2023

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has signed a new launch services agreement with a confidential customer for a HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) mission from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in 2024.

The contract signing with a new customer came just days after Rocket Lab successfully launched the first HASTE mission on 17 June 2023 for Leidos under the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) program.

The mission was Rocket Lab's third mission from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport since the Company began launches from U.S. soil in January this year, demonstrating rapid and reliable launch capability for government and commercial programs.

"After delivering mission success with our HASTE launch in June, we're delighted to be selected once again to deliver this crucial capability, enabling our customers to accelerate hypersonic innovation," said Brian Rogers, Senior Director - Global Launch Services, Rocket Lab.

"We're immensely proud to be delivering a vital capability to the nation by increasing the cadence and availability of hypersonic and suborbital flight testing to enable technology maturation."

Rocket Lab's HASTE suborbital launch vehicle is derived from the Company's workhorse Electron rocket - the world's most frequently launched commercial small launch vehicle. Leveraging Electron's deep flight heritage, HASTE offers true commercial testing capability on rapid schedules and at a fraction of the cost of current full-scale tests.

Tailored specifically for suborbital and hypersonic test flight capability, HASTE has a modified Kick Stage, a larger payload capacity of up to 700 kg / 1,540 lbs, and options for tailored fairings to accommodate larger payloads.

HASTE is operated under Rocket Lab National Security (RLNS), the Company's wholly owned subsidiary created to serve the unique needs of the U.S. defense and intelligence community and its allies..

BlackSky signs Rocket Lab for five launches
Herndon VA (SPX) Aug 09 - BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) and Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) signed an agreement to buy a block of five launches that will increase capacity and introduce new capabilities into BlackSky's rapid-revisit, high-res constellation.

"We continue to see strong, growing demand for our high-frequency, low latency offering from our current and next generation constellation especially for defense and intelligence customers who need real-time, on-demand intelligence in support of critical missions," said Brian E. O'Toole, BlackSky CEO.

"With these launches BlackSky will replenish, replace, and expand on-orbit capacity, introduce Gen-3 capabilities, and further enable BlackSky to meet the demands of the most time-dominant missions. This commitment follows a series of accomplishments with Rocket Lab that have demonstrated agility in deploying capacity where and when our customers need it most."

"After four years of launching for BlackSky, we're delighted to continue our partnership with more dedicated launches on Electron," said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. "Building and maintaining a constellation requires precision deployment to unique orbits and a dependable launch schedule. We're proud to deliver this dependable and tailored capability launch after launch, year after year."

BlackSky's next-generation Gen-3 satellites are designed to produce images with up to 35-centimeter resolution. When coupled with BlackSky Spectra, our proprietary AI-driven tasking and analytics platform, the combination gives customers the ability to detect critical change with increased speed, on-demand.

Increased resolution and enhanced spectral diversity extend BlackSky's ability to provide real-time insights to its customers in a broad set of conditions, including nighttime, low light and challenging weather. BlackSky's unique ability to capture and quickly deliver large volumes of dawn-to-dusk, time-diverse imagery increases transparency into strategic defense and economic activities that could otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

Rocket Lab has launched six successful Electron missions for BlackSky since 2019. The launches are expected to take place beginning in 2024 from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.