Space Force Awards $266 Million Contract for Suborbital Missile Defense Launches
New Alaska Launch Site Will Handle Most of the Flights, Company Says
The U.S. Space Force has awarded a $266 million multi-launch contract covering a dozen suborbital missions to Rocket Lab, the largest launch agreement in company history, the launch provider said last week.
“Cadence, iteration, and relentless execution are essential to maturing America’s missile defense capabilities.”
Sir Peter Beck, Rocket Lab
The Space Systems Command’s Rocket Systems Launch Program, known as RSLP, awarded the contract to Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB), according to the company. The agreement calls for 12 suborbital launches, with an option for six more.
Rocket Lab’s release did not name a specific vehicle for the missions, though HASTE — a modified, suborbital variant of the company’s Electron rocket — is the only launch vehicle in Rocket Lab’s fleet built for suborbital flight. HASTE has flown hypersonic and missile-defense-related test missions for the Defense Innovation Unit and the Missile Defense Agency since its 2023 debut. The company’s release also did not disclose per-launch pricing or the contract’s structure.
Most of the flights will lift off from a new Rocket Lab site at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska in Kodiak, Alaska, joining the company’s existing pads at Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand and Launch Complex 2 and Launch Complex 3 in Virginia, the company said. The first launch under the contract is not expected before the end of 2026, according to Rocket Lab, which did not specify a firm date.
Sir Peter Beck, founder and chief executive of Rocket Lab, said the deal reflects the government’s trust in the company’s launch cadence. “Cadence, iteration, and relentless execution are essential to maturing America’s missile defense capabilities, and that’s exactly what we bring with launch leadership,” Beck said. “The size and scale of this contract reflects the Space Force’s confidence in our ability to meet their urgent national security demands with speed, responsiveness, and scale.”
Rocket Lab’s release described the deal as supporting “programs with significant national importance” but did not name the specific missile defense programs the launches will serve.