Rocket Lab-Built Twin Spacecraft Begin Mars Journey for NASA and UC Berkeley’s ESCAPADE Mission
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) announced its two Explorer-class spacecraft built for NASA and UC Berkeley’s ESCAPADE mission launched Nov 13, 2025, and began their journey to Mars.
Rocket Lab established contact and reports the twins are generating power and will enter commissioning with orientation, solar-array deployment, avionics and propulsion checkouts. ESCAPADE will loiter near Earth–Sun L2 until a fall 2026 alignment, use an Earth gravity assist, and is scheduled to arrive at Mars in September 2027, with first science formation planned in 2028. From contract award to launch the spacecraft moved from design to completion in 3.5 years, enabled by Rocket Lab’s vertically integrated supply chain.
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) ha annunciato che i suoi due veicoli spaziali della classe Explorer, costruiti per la missione ESCAPADE della NASA e dell'UC Berkeley, sono stati lanciati il 13 novembre 2025 e hanno iniziato il viaggio verso Marte.
Rocket Lab ha stabilito contatto e riferisce che i due gemelli stanno generando energia e entreranno nella fase di messa in servizio con allineamento, dispiegamento dell’array solare, controllo avionico e propulsione. ESCAPADE resterà in orbita vicino a Earth–Sun L2 fino a un allineamento previsto per l’autunno 2026, userà un assist gravitazionale terrestre ed è previsto l’arrivo su Marte nel settembre 2027, con la prima formazione scientifica prevista nel 2028. Dalla firma del contratto al lancio, la navicella è passata dalla progettazione al completamento in 3,5 anni, reso possibile dalla catena di fornitura verticalmente integrata di Rocket Lab.
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) anunció que sus dos naves espaciales de clase Explorer, construidas para la misión ESCAPADE de la NASA y de UC Berkeley, fueron lanzadas el 13 de noviembre de 2025 y comenzaron su trayectoria hacia Marte.
Rocket Lab estableció contacto y reporta que los gemelos están generando energía y entrarán en la fase de puesta en servicio con alineación, desplegado de la matriz solar, verificación de avionía y propulsión. ESCAPADE permanecerá errante cerca de Earth–Sun L2 hasta una alineación en el otoño de 2026, utilizará una asistencia gravitacional terrestre y se prevé que llegue a Marte en septiembre de 2027, con la primera formación científica prevista para 2028. Desde la adjudicación del contrato hasta el lanzamiento, la nave pasó de diseño a finalización en 3,5 años, gracias a la cadena de suministro verticalmente integrada de Rocket Lab.
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB)는 NASA와 UC 버클리의 ESCAPADE 임무를 위해 제작된 Explorer급 두 대의 우주선이 2025년 11월 13일 발사되어 화성을 향한 여정을 시작했다고 발표했다.
Rocket Lab은 접촉을 확인했고 이들 쌍둥이는 전력을 생성 중이며 방향 결정, 태양광 어레이 전개, 항공전자 및 추진 점검을 마친 뒤 시운전에 들어갈 예정이라고 보고했다. ESCAPADE는 2026년 가을 정렬까지 Earth–Sun L2 근처에 머물고 지구 중력 보조를 사용할 것이며, 2027년 9월에 화성에 도착할 예정이고 2028년에 첫 과학 형성이 계획되어 있다. 계약 체결부터 발사까지 우주선은 3.5년의 기간에 걸쳐 설계에서 완성으로 옮겨졌으며, 이는 Rocket Lab의 수직적으로 통합된 공급망 덕분이다.
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) a annoncé que ses deux engins spatiaux de classe Explorer, construits pour la mission ESCAPADE de la NASA et de l’UC Berkeley, ont été lancés le 13 novembre 2025 et ont commencé leur voyage vers Mars.
Rocket Lab a établi le contact et indique que les jumeaux produisent de l’énergie et entreront dans la phase de mise en service avec orientation, déploiement des panneaux solaires, vérifications avioniques et de propulsion. ESCAPADE restera en orbite près d’Earth–Sun L2 jusqu’à une mise en alignement à l’automne 2026, utilisera une assistance gravitationnelle terrestre et devrait arriver sur Mars en septembre 2027, la première formation scientifique étant prévue en 2028. Depuis l’attribution du contrat jusqu’au lancement, l’engin spatial est passé de la conception à l’achèvement en 3,5 ans, rendu possible par la chaîne d’approvisionnement verticalement intégrée de Rocket Lab.
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) gab bekannt, dass seine beiden Explorer-Klasse Raumfahrzeuge, die für die Mission ESCAPADE der NASA und der UC Berkeley gebaut wurden, am 13. November 2025 gestartet wurden und sich auf den Weg zum Mars gemacht haben.
Rocket Lab hat Kontakt hergestellt und meldet, dass die Zwillinge Energie erzeugen und in die Inbetriebnahme mit Ausrichtung, Solar-Array-Entfaltung, Avionik- und Triebwerkstests gehen werden. ESCAPADE wird nahe dem Erd-Sonnen-L2-Bereich verweilen, bis eine Ausrichtung im Herbst 2026 erfolgt, eine Bahnhilfe durch Erdbeschleunigung nutzen und soll im September 2027 Mars erreichen, mit der ersten wissenschaftlichen Formation geplant für 2028. Vom Vertragsschluss bis zum Start hat sich das Raumfahrzeug von der Konstruktion zur Fertigstellung in 3,5 Jahren entwickelt, ermöglicht durch die vertikal integrierte Lieferkette von Rocket Lab.
شركة روكِت لاب (ناسداك: RKLB) أعلنت أن مركّتي Explorer-class الفضائيتين، المصممتين لمهمة ESCAPADE التابعة لناسا وجامعة كاليفورنيا في بيركلي، قد أُطلقا في 13 نوفمبر 2025 وبدأتا رحلتهما نحو المريخ.
أقامت روكِت لاب اتصالاً وأفادت بأن التوأمين يولدان الطاقة وسيدخلان في مرحلة التشغيل التجريبي مع التوجيه، ونشر مصفوفات الطاقة الشمسية، وفحص avionics والدفع. ستبقى ESCAPADE في مدار قريب من Earth–Sun L2 حتى محاذاة خريف 2026، وستستخدم مساعدة جاذبية الأرض، ومن المقرر وصولها إلى المريخ في سبتمبر 2027، مع التخطيط لأول تشكيل علمي في 2028. منذ منح العقد وحتى الإطلاق، انتقلت المركبة من التصميم إلى الإنجاز خلال 3.5 سنوات، بفضل سلسلة التوريد المدمجة رأسياً لشركة Rocket Lab.
- Launch occurred on Nov 13, 2025
- Rocket Lab established contact; spacecraft are generating power
- Spacecraft completed from contract to launch in 3.5 years
- Mars arrival scheduled for September 2027
- Mission uses an Earth‑proximity loiter until fall 2026, extending transit time
- ESCAPADE depends on an Earth gravity assist for Mars transfer
Insights
Successful contact and commissioning begin; interplanetary transfer uses an Earth-loiter and gravity assist with Mars arrival in
The twin Explorer-class spacecraft built by Rocket Lab are in orbit and generating power, and Rocket Lab will perform commissioning steps including attitude stabilization, solar-array deployment, avionics and propulsion checkouts before trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs).
The mission uses an Earth-proximity "loiter" orbit near L2 until the planets align in
Watch for successful completion of initial commissioning (orientation and solar arrays) in the coming days, the first TCMs that demonstrate deep-space propulsion and navigation, and the planned Earth gravity assist window in
Launch completion advances Rocket Lab’s interplanetary capability and demonstrates vertically integrated production on an accelerated schedule.
From contract award to launch the ESCAPADE spacecraft moved from design to completion in three and a half years, enabled by in-house production of key subsystems such as solar arrays, reaction wheels, tanks, star trackers, radios, avionics and flight software; Rocket Lab will now support operations and TCMs through mission cruise.
Risks and dependencies include successful commissioning, reliable TCM execution, and the Earth gravity assist in
LONG BEACH, Calif., Nov. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today announced its two Explorer-class spacecraft for NASA and the University of California Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory have been successfully launched, beginning their journey to Mars to study the Red Planet’s magnetosphere. NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission was launched by Blue Origin on November 13, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 03:55 p.m. EST.
Rocket Lab has successfully established contact with the spacecraft and they are generating power. Now in orbit, the spacecraft will undergo commissioning by Rocket Lab’s spacecraft operations team in the coming days, beginning with early checkouts including orientation stabilization and solar array deployment, followed by commissioning of flight computers, multiple antenna, guidance and navigation sensors and actuators, and the propulsion system leading up to the mission’s first maneuvers.
Rocket Lab’s Explorer-class spacecraft platform is a high delta-V, interplanetary member of its advanced satellite family. From contract award to launch, ESCAPADE moved from design to spacecraft completion in just three and a half years – an aggressive timeline for a Mars mission. This was made possible by the Company’s vertically integrated supply chain, which brings the production of solar arrays, reaction wheels, propellant tanks, star trackers, radios, avionics, flight software, and more entirely in-house.
“Mars missions have historically been measured in decades and come with price tags in the billions or hundreds of millions. With this mission we’re bringing Mars closer, proving real interplanetary science can be done faster and more cost-effectively to unlock the solar system,” said Sir Peter Beck, Founder and CEO of Rocket Lab. “ESCAPADE is a major first, not just for Rocket Lab, but for commercial interplanetary science. It’s the result of bold goals from NASA and UC Berkeley, enabled by our end-to-end spacecraft capabilities. We’re proud to play a part in this mission and even prouder to know they’re continuing our legacy at the Red Planet.”
Rob Lillis, ESCAPADE Principal Investigator and Associate Director for Planetary Science at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, says: "As PI, I'm very grateful to have a top-notch joint ops team at UC Berkeley and Rocket Lab taking care of the twin spacecraft out there in space. I'm both elated and relieved to see NASA’s ESCAPADE spacecraft healthy post-launch and looking forward to the next chapter of their journey to help us understand Mars' dynamic space weather environment."
Now in orbit, a complex and extended journey begins for Blue and Gold, with trajectory design led by Advanced Space LLC.
The alignment between Earth and Mars does not currently allow ESCAPADE to use a traditional direct-to-Mars transfer. Instead, ESCAPADE will launch into a “loiter” (or “Earth-proximity”) orbit that loops around Earth’s Lagrange point 2 (about a million miles from Earth, opposite the Sun) until the next planetary alignment window. Once the planets have reached the ideal alignment in fall 2026, the ESCAPADE spacecraft will use an Earth gravity assist to begin the journey to Mars.
Throughout the mission, Rocket Lab and UC Berkeley spacecraft operators will command the spacecraft to conduct deep-space maneuvers, known as trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs). The TCMs will boost the spacecraft’s energy to reach Mars and provide navigation control to target their unique orbit insertion corridors. The spacecraft are scheduled to arrive at Mars in September 2027. The spacecraft will begin to transition to their first science formation in 2028.
ESCAPADE will allow scientists to understand how the solar wind strips ions from Mars’ atmosphere, offering insight into the planet’s atmospheric escape history and space weather environment, and informing future human exploration strategies.
More mission information: https://rocketlabcorp.com/assets/Uploads/RL-ESCAPADE-Press-Kit-2025.pdf
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+ About Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab is a leading space company that provides launch services, spacecraft, payloads, and satellite components serving commercial, government, and national security markets. Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket is the world’s most frequently launched orbital small rocket; its HASTE rocket provides hypersonic test launch capability for the U.S. government and allied nations; and its Neutron launch vehicle in development will unlock medium launch for constellation deployment, national security and exploration missions. Rocket Lab’s spacecraft and satellite components have enabled more than 1,700 missions spanning commercial, defense and national security missions including GPS, constellations, and exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and Venus. Rocket Lab is a publicly listed company on the Nasdaq stock exchange (RKLB). Learn more at www.rocketlabcorp.com.
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This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding our launch and space systems operations, launch schedule and window, safe and repeatable access to space, Neutron development, operational expansion and business strategy are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “target,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of our website at www.rocketlabcorp.com, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c3270d81-2c53-4b06-95c9-e195b943dcf0
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