Rocket Lab Cuts the Ribbon on Launch Complex 3
Facility Purpose-Built for Launching Neutron Rockets from U.S. Soil
There's a new launch facility at Wallops Island, VA. Rocket Lab officially cut the ribbon on its new Launch Complex 3 (LC-3) Thursday morning in an event attended by company founder Sir Peter Beck, Virginia Governor Glenn Younkin and other government and NASA officials.
"With the opening of Launch Complex 3, we take a major step forward in ensuring resilient and assured space access for the nation ... a capability that has never been more critical."
Sir Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab
Ground was broken on LC-3 in 2022, according to a Rocket Lab news release at the time. The facility is purpose-built for launching Rocket Lab's Neutron rocket, a fully-reusable launch system. The company says the advanced 8-ton payload class Neutron launch vehicle is designed to transform space access by delivering reliable and cost-effective launch services for satellite mega-constellations, deep space missions and human spaceflight. The booster will land on a 400-ft-long landing platform named ‘Return On Investment' that is currently under construction.
"With the opening of Launch Complex 3, we take a major step forward in ensuring resilient and assured space access for the nation ... a capability that has never been more critical," said Sir Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab. "Our high cadence, reusable launch vehicle Neutron will expand Virginia's capabilities, and enable the United States to quickly and reliably reach the International Space Station, Earth orbit, as well as explore the moon and beyond."
Governor Younkin called the Virginia spaceport an economic engine for the region that took a giant step forward with the signing of President Trump's executive order promoting the commercial space industry. "This is a game-changer," Younkin said. "Enabling competition in the space industry. In order to lead, it requires us to have an ecosystem that can fulfill not just the current requirements, but the future requirements of the most vibrant space industry complex in America. That is what we are building."
Younkin also announced the opening of the Aerospace Academy on the Eastern Shore Lab School, which will be dedicated to grades nine through 12 for building future talent of the space industry.
Designed to support testing, launch, and return-to-Earth missions for Rocket Lab’s Neutron rocket, Launch Complex 3 plays a vital role in ensuring American leadership in space as a rapid response capable launch site.
Construction on Launch Complex 3 began in late 2023, with the site operational and officially opened in August 2025. More than 60 contractors were involved in the site’s development to supply services, hardware, and materials – many of them Virginia-based local workers and companies.
Domestically sourced infrastructure designed, tested, and operated by Rocket Lab includes:
The site’s ~30 ft tall launch mount containing 700+ tons of steel, operated by hydraulic mechanisms that support, hold, and subsequently release Neutron for test and launch operations;
Launch equipment vaults housing electrical and controls equipment needed to operate the site’s ground systems and launch vehicle;
180,000 gallon LOX and LNG propellant farms that store and load Neutron with fuel and oxidizer for test and launch operations, alongside 45,000 gallons of stored liquid nitrogen in three vertical tanks;
A 200,000+ gallon capacity water supply tower standing at 200+ ft tall.
The first launch of a Neutron rocket from LC-3 is not planned until 2026, but Governor Younkin hinted that it might come before the end of this year. "If it's on Christmas Day, I'll bring the presents," he said. The 'Return on Investment' barge is not scheduled for completion until next year.