Rocket Lab Reschedules First U.S. Launch for January 2023, Provides Update on Effect to Prior Q4 Guidance
December 19 2022 - 06:09PM
Business Wire
Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab”), a leading
launch and space systems company, has today announced the launch
window for its first Electron mission from U.S. soil has been
rescheduled to January 2023.
The move of the planned launch window from December 2022 to
early 2023 was driven by weather and the additional time that the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at Wallops and
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) required to complete
essential regulatory documentation for launch. The delay in
documentation left only two days in the originally scheduled 14-day
launch window and both of those final remaining days were
unsuitable for launch due to bad weather. The Mid-Atlantic Regional
Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility is now closed for
launch activity for the remainder of the December due to holiday
airspace restrictions, preventing further launch attempts in 2022.
Now scheduled for January, the mission will still take place from
Virginia.
This new launch window will result in the mission and its
related revenue being recognized in Rocket Lab’s fiscal Q1 2023,
versus in fiscal Q4 2022 as was previously anticipated at the time
Rocket Lab provided Q4 2022 financial guidance in conjunction with
its Q3 2022 preliminary earnings release on November 9, 2022. As a
result, Rocket Lab is updating its expected Q4 2022 revenue outlook
from the range of $51 million to $54 million previously provided on
November 9, 2022, to $46 million - $47 million.
The “Virginia Is For Launch Lovers” mission will deploy three
satellites for radio frequency geospatial analytics provider
HawkEye 360. The mission is the first of three Electron launches
for HawkEye 360 in a contract that will see Rocket Lab deliver 15
satellites to low Earth orbit between by the end of 2024. These
missions will grow HawkEye 360’s constellation of radio frequency
monitoring satellites, enabling the company to better deliver
precise geolocation of radio frequency emissions anywhere in the
world.
While “Virginia Is For Launch Lovers” will be Electron’s first
launch from the U.S., Rocket Lab has already conducted 32 Electron
missions from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, delivering 152
satellites to orbit for customers including NASA, the National
Reconnaissance Office, DARPA, the U.S. Space Force and a range of
commercial constellation operators. Electron is already the most
frequently launched small orbital rocket globally and now with the
capacity of the pads at Launch Complex 1 and 2 combined, Rocket Lab
has more than 130 Electron launch opportunities every year.
+ 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. To learn more, visit
www.rocketlabusa.com.
+ Forward Looking Statement
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 fourth 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.
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+ Rocket Lab Media Contact Morgan Bailey
media@rocketlabusa.com
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