The mission was Rocket Lab’s 33rd Electron
mission overall, but the first launched from U.S. soil, introducing
a new responsive launch capability to the nation
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the
Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today
successfully launched its 33rd Electron rocket and first mission
from Virginia. The “Virginia is for Launch Lovers” mission lifted
off at 18:00 EST on January 24th from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2
(LC-2) at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. The mission deployed three
satellites to a 550km orbit for leading radio frequency geospatial
analytics provider HawkEye 360. Rocket Lab has now successfully
deployed a total of 155 satellites to orbit from the Company’s
three launch pads across the U.S. and New Zealand.
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Electron lifts off from Launch Complex 2
at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility at the Mid-Atlantic Regional
Spaceport in Virginia. The mission was Rocket Lab's first launch
from U.S. soil. Image Credit - Brady Kenniston
The successful launch from LC-2 marks the beginning of a new era
of responsive launch capability for small satellites from U.S.
soil. Built with support from Virginia Space, the Commonwealth of
Virginia and NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Rocket Lab Launch
Complex 2 is designed to serve the responsive space needs of
commercial, civil, defense, and national security customers,
supporting up to 12 missions per year. Combined with Rocket Lab’s
private Launch Complex 1 site in New Zealand, the Company’s launch
sites can support more than 130 launch opportunities every year,
delivering flexibility and rapid launch capability for
customers.
“Electron is already the leading small orbital rocket globally,
and today’s perfect mission from a new pad is testament to our
team’s unrelenting commitment to mission success,” said Rocket Lab
founder and CEO Peter Beck. “After our busiest launch year yet in
2022 with nine successful missions, what better way to kick off the
new year than by launching Virginia-built spacecraft from a
Virginia launch site, enabled by our rapidly growing Virginia-based
team. This mission has been a real team effort. Thanks to the
consistent support of NASA, Virginia Space, the FAA, the
Commonwealth and our mission partner HawkEye 360, Rocket Lab is
proud to bring a reliable and responsive new launch capability to
Virginia’s Eastern Shore.”
“We are grateful to share in the success of today’s launch. Our
sixth trio of satellites and our first mid-latitude satellite
cluster will broaden the scope of our geospatial insights for our
partners around the world,” said HawkEye 360 CEO, John Serafini.
“This also marks our first launch in our home state of Virginia,
making today’s success even more meaningful. We look forward to a
fruitful partnership with Rocket Lab and Virginia Space in the
months and years ahead.”
The launch of Electron from the NASA-controlled Wallops Flight
Facility also marked the introduction of the agency’s autonomous
flight termination capability, known as NAFTU (NASA Autonomous
Flight Termination Unit). While Rocket Lab has successfully flown
its own autonomous system on Electron missions since 2019, NASA
developed NAFTU in conjunction with this launch to provide a common
system for flight termination for a wide array of launch vehicles
at any launch range. Autonomous flight termination capability now
being in operation at Wallops can provide faster and cheaper access
to space for small satellites by enabling wider launch windows,
smaller launch safety corridors, and reduced reliance on
ground-based systems.
“We are honored to support the launch of this historic mission,”
said Ted Mercer, CEO and Executive Director of Virginia Space. “In
addition to being Rocket Lab’s first and only U.S. launch location,
we will also be building rockets and processing their payload right
here in Accomack County – something that has never been done in
Virginia. Our partnership with Rocket Lab is a unique opportunity
for the Commonwealth of Virginia to create long-term economic
development opportunities in the form of high-paying jobs, launch
viewing tourism, and construction of new facilities on the Eastern
Shore.”
The “Virginia is for Launch Lovers” mission was the first of
three Electron launches for HawkEye 360 in a contract that will see
Rocket Lab deliver 15 satellites to low Earth orbit in 2023 and
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. Supporting Rocket Lab’s vertical integration
strategy, Rocket Lab will also supply HawkEye 360 with separation
systems produced by Planetary Systems Corporation, a Maryland-based
space hardware company acquired by Rocket Lab in December 2021.
Virginia is the first U.S. launch location of the Electron
launch vehicle, but it will also be home to the Company’s new
larger launch vehicle Neutron, which will be built, tested,
launched, and landed within the Wallops Flight Facility in the
future. Construction is underway of the Neutron Production Complex
as development of the new rocket progresses, thanks to the
continuous support from the Commonwealth and Virginia Space.
+ 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 155
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.
+ 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 first quarter of 2023,
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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