The deal will see Rocket Lab launch four
dedicated Electron missions for satellite and Earth imaging company
Capella Space, in addition to a standalone mission scheduled for
launch this month
Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the
Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today
announced it has secured a multi-launch deal for a rapid succession
of four Electron missions for Capella Space, an American space tech
company and the world’s leading provider of commercial Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery.
Scheduled for launch beginning in the second half of 2023, each
Electron mission will deploy a single SAR Earth-imaging Acadia
satellite, a new generation satellite designed, manufactured, and
operated by Capella Space, to low Earth orbit. These missions,
scheduled to launch in quick succession, will follow an existing
launch on the Rocket Lab manifest for Capella Space, the “Stronger
Together” mission which is scheduled to lift off from Launch
Complex 2 in Wallops, Virginia in March 2023. Capella Space is a
returning customer to Electron, with Rocket Lab having launched a
dedicated mission for the SAR company in August 2020.
The multi-rocket launch commitment demonstrates Rocket Lab’s
proven ability to deliver streamlined access to space and allows
Capella to meet growing customer demand for Capella SAR technology
that can gather images 24/7 and through clouds or darkness.
Rocket Lab CEO and founder, Peter Beck, says: “We delivered
mission success for Capella in our first mission for them in 2020
and now we’re thrilled they’ve entrusted us with a further five
missions to help expand their growing SAR constellation. We’re
proud to provide the team at Capella with a reliable ride to space,
combined with the flexibility of two launch sites in different
hemispheres to enable flexibility and responsiveness.”
Capella Space CEO and founder, Payam Banazadeh, says: “We are
experiencing increased market demand for our highest-quality SAR
data, and this announcement underscores Capella’s strong commitment
to our global customers across the defence and intelligence and
commercial markets. We are excited for the multiple launches with
Rocket Lab, including the introduction of our new generation Acadia
satellite technology, to further enhance our market-leading
capabilities of high-frequency, best quality SAR imagery with the
fastest order-to-delivery speeds of any commercial SAR
provider.”
The four newly-signed missions are planned to lift-off from
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand – however, Rocket Lab
has provided Capella Space with the flexibility to move any of the
missions to Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 in Wallops, Virginia if
required as the mission campaigns progress in order to meet optimum
customer and mission requirements. By operating three orbital
launch pads across two continents, Rocket Lab’s responsive and
flexible launch solution enables assured access to orbit for
Capella Space to quickly and reliably increase their
constellation’s capacity and orbital diversity to meet growing
demands for its SAR imagery and analysis.
In addition to providing the launch service, each Capella Space
mission will feature separation systems produced by Rocket Lab in
line with the Company’s vertical integration strategy.
Capella Space joins a growing list of commercial constellation
operators who have entrusted Rocket Lab to deploy their spacecraft
to precise orbits on dependable schedules including: BlackSky
Global, Hawkeye 360, Synspective, Kineis, Planet, Spire, Fleet
Space and more. Kineis is scheduled to begin late 2023.
+ 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 and the Photon satellite platform and is
developing the Neutron 13-ton payload class launch vehicle. 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 third launch site in
Virginia, USA. To learn more, visit www.rocketlabusa.com.
+ About CAPELLA SPACE
Capella Space is an American space tech company with data and
satellite solutions for government and commercial use. A pioneer in
the Earth observation industry, Capella is the first U.S. company
with a constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites,
delivering the best quality, highest resolution SAR imagery
commercially available. Capella provides easy access to frequent
and timely information affecting dozens of industries worldwide,
including defense and intelligence, supply chain, insurance,
maritime and others. Its market-leading SAR satellites are matched
with unparalleled data infrastructure to quickly deliver reliable
global insights that sharpen our understanding of the changing
world – improving decisions about commerce, conservation, and
security on Earth. Headquartered in San Francisco, California with
additional locations in Denver, Colorado and Washington, D.C.,
Capella's satellites are operated, designed, and manufactured in
the USA. Learn more at www.capellaspace.com.
+ 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. 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 press 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, 2022, which was
filed with the SEC on February 28, 2023, 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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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230301005140/en/
+ Rocket Lab Media Contact Murielle Baker
media@rocketlabusa.com
+ Capella Space Media Contact Kimberly Schwandt
media@capellaspace.com
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