NASA Selects Rocket Lab to Launch TROPICS Mission
November 23 2022 - 04:10PM
Business Wire
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the
Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today
announced it has been selected by NASA to launch the Time-Resolved
Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a
Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission, as part of the
agency's Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare
(VADR) launch services contract.
Rocket Lab will launch the TROPICS mission, which is part of
NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder Program and consists of four
CubeSats in two low-Earth orbital planes, into their operational
orbit within a 60-day period. These two dedicated missions will
launch on Electron rockets from Launch Complex 2 within the
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA Wallops Flight Facility in
Virginia. The launches are scheduled to take place no earlier than
May 1, 2023.
The TROPICS constellation targets the formation and evolution of
tropical cyclones, including hurricanes. TROPICS will provide
rapidly updating observations of storm intensity as well as the
horizontal and vertical structures of temperature and humidity
within the storms and in their surrounding environment. These data
will help scientists better understand the processes that effect
these high-impact storms, ultimately leading to improved modeling
and prediction.
“This year we once again witnessed the devastating effects of
hurricanes and tropical storms on lives and livelihoods,
underscoring the importance of improved climate data from space to
enable scientists and researchers to accurately predict storm
strength and give people time to evacuate and make plans,” said
Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck. “The TROPICS satellites
need a responsive and reliable path to orbit to equip people with
near real-time, actionable weather data and Rocket Lab is honored
to provide a dependable launch solution as we approach the 2023
hurricane season. We look forward to working closely with the team
at NASA to deliver mission success once again.”
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts,
contained in this release, including statements regarding our
expectations of financial results for the third quarter of 2022,
strategy, future operations, future financial position, projected
costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, are
forward-looking statements. Words such as, but not limited to,
“anticipate,” “aim,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,”
“design,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,”
“possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,”
“suggest,” “strategy,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and similar
expressions or phrases, or the negative of those expressions or
phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these
identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on
Rocket Lab’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future
developments and their potential effects. These forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (many of which
are beyond Rocket Lab’s control), or other assumptions that may
cause actual results or performance to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially
from the forward-looking statements in this release, including
risks related to the global COVID-19 pandemic; risks related to
government restrictions and lock-downs in New Zealand and other
countries in which we operate that could delay or suspend our
operations; delays and disruptions in expansion efforts; our
dependence on a limited number of customers; the harsh and
unpredictable environment of space in which our products operate
which could adversely affect our launch vehicle and spacecraft;
increased congestion from the proliferation of low Earth orbit
constellations which could materially increase the risk of
potential collision with space debris or another spacecraft and
limit or impair our launch flexibility and/or access to our own
orbital slots; increased competition in our industry due in part to
rapid technological development and decreasing costs; technological
change in our industry which we may not be able to keep up with or
which may render our services uncompetitive; average selling price
trends; failure of our launch vehicles, spacecraft and components
to operate as intended either due to our error in design in
production or through no fault of our own; launch schedule
disruptions; supply chain disruptions, product delays or failures;
design and engineering flaws; launch failures; natural disasters
and epidemics or pandemics; changes in governmental regulations
including with respect to trade and export restrictions, or in the
status of our regulatory approvals or applications; or other events
that force us to cancel or reschedule launches, including customer
contractual rescheduling and termination rights; risks that
acquisitions may not be completed on the anticipated time frame or
at all or do not achieve the anticipated benefits and results; and
the other risks detailed from time to time in Rocket Lab’s filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including
under the heading “Risk Factors” in Rocket Lab’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, which was
filed with the SEC on March 24, 2022, and elsewhere (including that
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may also exacerbate the risks
discussed therein). There can be no assurance that the future
developments affecting Rocket Lab will be those that we have
anticipated. Except as required by law, Rocket Lab is not
undertaking any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise
+ ABOUT Rocket Lab
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with
an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable
launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and
on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier and more
affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach,
California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small
orbital launch vehicle, the Photon satellite platform and the
Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for
constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January
2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second
most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 152
satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations,
enabling operations in national security, scientific research,
space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and
communications. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been
selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as
the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three
launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a
private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a second
launch site in Virginia, USA which is expected to become
operational in 2022. To learn more, visit www.rocketlabusa.com.
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Morgan Bailey media@rocketlabusa.com
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