Welcome to our dedicated page for Rocket Lab Usa news (Ticker: RKLB), a resource for investors and traders seeking the latest updates and insights on Rocket Lab Usa stock.
Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB) generates frequent news as a space company providing launch services, spacecraft, payloads, and satellite components for commercial, government, and national security customers. News coverage often highlights Electron missions, Neutron development milestones, and contract awards that illustrate how the company participates in civil and defense space programs.
Readers of this page can follow updates on Electron launches, which include dedicated missions for organizations such as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Earth observation missions for institutions like the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and launches for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command and the Department of War’s Space Test Program. Articles also cover HASTE suborbital missions that support hypersonic technology testing for U.S. government and allied customers.
Rocket Lab news also features national security space contracts, including large awards from the U.S. Space Development Agency to design and manufacture satellites equipped with missile warning, tracking, and defense sensors. These stories describe payloads such as the Phoenix infrared sensor and StarLite space protection sensors, as well as the company’s role as a prime contractor and merchant supplier into broader satellite architectures.
Another key theme is technology and product development. News items describe progress on the Neutron launch vehicle, including qualification of its “Hungry Hippo” captive fairing, and updates on satellite components such as new reaction wheels being developed with support from the Canadian Space Agency. Together, these topics provide insight into Rocket Lab’s launch cadence, customer base, and expanding space systems capabilities.
Investors and observers can use this news feed to monitor mission schedules, contract wins, technology milestones, and regulatory disclosures that the company announces through press releases and related communications.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) completed its first launch of 2026 and its 80th Electron launch on Jan. 22, 2026. The mission, "The Cosmos Will See You Now," lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia at 11:52 pm NZDT (10:52 UTC) and successfully deployed two satellites into a 1,050 km circular Earth orbit for first-time dedicated customer Open Cosmos.
Open Cosmos launched the first satellites in its new proprietary LEO Ka-band telecom constellation one week after securing high-priority Ka-band spectrum. Rocket Lab said Electron's higher-altitude capability demonstrates versatile payload trajectories and will support Open Cosmos' increasing annual satellite production.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) provided a Neutron development update after a Stage 1 tank rupture occurred during a hydrostatic pressure qualification test overnight on Jan. 21, 2026.
The company said testing failures can be part of qualification, that there was no significant damage to the test structure or facilities, and that the next Stage 1 tank is already in production while the team reviews test data to determine any impact to the Neutron launch schedule.
Rocket Lab intends to provide a Neutron schedule update on its 2025 Q4 earnings call in February.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) completed its final scheduled 2025 Electron launch on Dec 21, 2025, deploying QPS-SAR-15 for Japan-based iQPS and recording 21 Electron launches in 2025 with 100% mission success. The QPS-SAR-15 joins iQPS’s SAR constellation, expanding near-real time imagery across 12 orbits. Rocket Lab has now launched seven satellites for iQPS and cites five additional Electron launches planned from 2026. 'The Wisdom God Guides' was Electron mission F79 and the company's final scheduled launch for 2025; the next Electron launch is slated for early Q1 2026.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) was awarded an $816 million prime contract by the U.S. Space Development Agency on Dec 19, 2025 to design and build 18 Tracking Layer Tranche 3 (TRKT3) satellites for missile detection, including hypersonic threats.
The award is $806 million base plus up to $10.45 million in options and includes Rocket Lab’s Phoenix infrared payloads and StarLite space protection sensors. As a supplier to other TRKT3 primes, total capture value could reach approximately $1 billion. Combined with a prior $515 million SDA award, Rocket Lab now holds over $1.3 billion in SDA contract value.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) successfully launched the STP-S30 mission on December 18, 2025, from LC-2 at MARS Wallops Island, lifting off at 12:03 a.m. (05:03 UTC).
The Electron mission, named “Don’t Be Such A Square,” deployed four DiskSat spacecraft to a 550 km low Earth orbit, completed five months ahead of schedule, and was awarded under the OSP-4 contract in April 2024. The flight was the company’s 20th launch of 2025 and 78th mission overall, marking four launches from LC-2 in three months and highlighting Rocket Lab’s rapid, responsive launch support for U.S. national security and defense technology programs.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) accelerated its Electron launch for the U.S. Space Force STP-S30 mission, moving liftoff to Dec 18, 2025 from an initial target of April 2026.
The mission, called “Don’t Be Such A Square,” will lift from Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, deploy the first four DiskSats to a 550 km low Earth orbit, and test maneuverability, dispenser mechanics, and orbit changes using electric propulsion.
Rocket Lab said this will be Electron’s 20th launch of the year and 78th mission overall, and follows another recent LC-2 launch less than a month earlier.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) successfully launched its first dedicated mission for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on December 14, 2025, lifting off at 03:09 UTC / 16:09 NZDT from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.
The Electron mission, named “RAISE And Shine”, deployed JAXA’s RApid Innovative payload demonstration SatellitE-4 (RAISE-4), carrying eight technology demonstrations from Japanese companies, universities, and research institutions. This was Rocket Lab’s 19th launch of 2025 and continues the company’s recent annual launch record. Rocket Lab noted a second dedicated JAXA mission set for Q1 2026 and a dedicated European Space Agency mission planned for the new year, underscoring continued international demand for Electron.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) expedited a dedicated Electron mission for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and scheduled liftoff in under 24 hours. The mission, Bridging The Swarm, is set to launch no earlier than December 11, 2025 at 00:45 UTC from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
The Bridging The Swarm mission will be Electron's 19th launch of 2025, and it now precedes the JAXA RAISE and Shine mission, scheduled no earlier than December 13, 2025 at 03:00 UTC. Rocket Lab said the rescheduling demonstrates operational efficiency, responsiveness, and flexibility while supporting a growing launch manifest and exceeding its 2024 tally of 16 missions.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) was awarded funding by the Canadian Space Agency on Dec 9, 2025 to develop a new medium-class reaction wheel targeting a minimum angular momentum capacity of 25 Nms. The device is designed to support 500–1,000 kg satellites and will be developed and qualified at Rocket Lab's Toronto facility. Rocket Lab will receive $999,951 CAD from a broader $14.2 million CAD CSA investment in Canadian space innovation and was one of 18 selected companies.
This work builds on Rocket Lab's existing reaction-wheel heritage across >300 satellites and follows its 2020 acquisition of Sinclair Interplanetary.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) announced the Hungry Hippo captive fairing for the Neutron launch vehicle has completed qualification testing and is enroute to Virginia for Neutron’s first launch.
The qualified fairing remains attached to Neutron’s first stage through launch and landing, opens to release stage two and payload, then closes to return the vehicle as a single reusable rocket—a claimed world-first for a commercial reusable fairing. Key metrics: 13,000 kg lift capacity, full-scale load test of 275,000 lb, opening/closing in 1.5 seconds, and structural tests exceeding 125% of expected flight loads. Hungry Hippo will be integrated at Launch Complex 3 ahead of static fires, a wet dress rehearsal, and Neutron’s first launch scheduled in 2026.
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