Rocket Lab Successfully Launches HASTE Mission for Defense Innovation Unit, Missile Defense Agency
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) successfully launched a suborbital HASTE mission for the Defense Innovation Unit and Missile Defense Agency on November 18, 2025 from Wallops Island, Virginia at 13:00 UTC/08:00 a.m. ET.
The mission deployed a government primary payload developed by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory plus multiple secondary payloads to test hypersonic and missile-defense technologies under DIU’s HyCAT program. Rocket Lab said the flight launched within 14 months of contract signing and was the company’s sixth HASTE mission since 2023. HASTE — a suborbital variant of Electron — can deliver payloads at speeds above 7.5 km/s and, combined with Electron, has deployed 200+ payloads for government and commercial customers to date.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) ha lanciato con successo una missione suborbitale HASTE per l'Defense Innovation Unit e la Missile Defense Agency il 18 novembre 2025 da Wallops Island, Virginia alle ore 13:00 UTC/08:00 ET.
La missione ha schierato un payload primario governativo sviluppato dal Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory insieme a molteplici payload secondari per testare tecnologie ipersoniche e di difesa missilistica nell'ambito del programma HyCAT DIU. Rocket Lab ha dichiarato che il volo è stato lanciato entro 14 mesi dalla firma del contratto ed è stato il sesto missione HASTE dal 2023. HASTE — una variante suborbitale dell'Electron — può consegnare payload a velocità superiori a 7,5 km/s e, combinata con l'Electron, ha dispiegato 200+ payload per clienti governativi e commerciali.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) lanzó con éxito una misión suborbital HASTE para la Defense Innovation Unit y la Missile Defense Agency el 18 de noviembre de 2025 desde Wallops Island, Virginia a las 13:00 UTC/08:00 ET.
La misión desplegó una carga útil gubernamental primaria desarrollada por Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, junto con múltiples cargas útiles secundarias para probar tecnologías hipersónicas y de defensa contra misiles dentro del programa HyCAT de DIU. Rocket Lab declaró que el vuelo se lanzó dentro de 14 meses de la firma del contrato y fue la sexta misión HASTE desde 2023. HASTE —una variante suborbital del Electron— puede entregar cargas útiles a velocidades superiores a 7,5 km/s y, combinado con el Electron, ha desplegado 200+ cargas útiles para clientes gubernamentales y comerciales hasta la fecha.
Rocket Lab (나스닥: RKLB)은 Defense Innovation Unit 및 Missile Defense Agency를 위한 서발사 HASTE 임무를 2025년 11월 18일 Wallops Island, 버지니아에서 13:00 UTC/08:00 ET에 성공적으로 발사했다.
이 임무는 Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory가 개발한 정부 주도 기본 탑재체와 여러 차례의 보조 탑재체를 배치하여 DIU의 HyCAT 프로그램 하에서 극초음속 및 미사일 방어 기술을 시험했다. Rocket Lab은 계약 체결로부터 14개월 이내에 발사됐으며 2023년 이후로 여섯 번째 HASTE 임무라고 밝혔다. HASTE는 Electron의 서발사 변형으로, 7.5 km/s 이상의 속도로 탑재체를 전달할 수 있으며, Electron과 결합하여 현재까지 정부 및 상업 고객을 위해 200+ 개의 탑재체를 배치해 왔다.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq : RKLB) a lancé avec succès une mission suborbitale HASTE pour l'Unité d'Innovation Défense et l'Agence de défense antimissile le 18 novembre 2025 depuis Wallops Island, Virginie, à 13:00 UTC/08:00 ET.
La mission a déployé une charge utile gouvernementale principale développée par Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, ainsi que plusieurs charges utiles secondaires pour tester des technologies hypersoniques et de défense antimissile dans le cadre du programme HyCAT de l'DIU. Rocket Lab a indiqué que le vol a été lancé dans 14 mois après la signature du contrat et a été la sixième mission HASTE depuis 2023. HASTE — une variante suborbitale de l'Electron — peut livrer des charges utiles à des vitesses supérieures à 7,5 km/s et, combiné à l'Electron, a déployé 200+ charges utiles pour des clients gouvernementaux et commerciaux à ce jour.
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) hat erfolgreich eine suborbitale Mission HASTE für die Defense Innovation Unit und die Missile Defense Agency am 18. November 2025 von Wallops Island, Virginia um 13:00 UTC/08:00 ET gestartet.
Die Mission setzte eine vom Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory entwickelte primäre Regierungs- Nutzlast zusammen mit mehreren sekundären Nutzlasten ein, um Hyperschall- und Raketenabwehrtechnologien im Rahmen des HyCAT-Programms der DIU zu testen. Rocket Lab gab an, dass der Flug innerhalb von 14 Monaten nach Unterzeichnung des Vertrags gestartet wurde und es die sechste HASTE-Mission seit 2023 war. HASTE – eine suborbitale Variante der Electron – kann Nutzlasten mit Geschwindigkeiten über 7,5 km/s liefern und hat zusammen mit der Electron bislang 200+ Nutzlasten für Regierungs- und Privatkunden bereitgestellt.
Rocket Lab (ناسداك: RKLB) أطلقت بنجاح مهمة فرعية المدار HASTE لوحدة ابتكار الدفاع ووكالة الدفاع الصاروخي في 18 نوفمبر 2025 من جزيرة Wallops، فيرجينيا في الساعة 13:00 بالتوقيت العالمي المنسق/08:00 بالتوقيت الشرقي.
قامت المهمة بنشر حِملٍ أساسي حكومي طورته Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory بالإضافة إلى حمولات ثانوية متعددة لاختبار تكنولوجيات فرط صوتية والدفاع الصاروخي ضمن برنامج HyCAT التابع لـ DIU. قالت شركة Rocket Lab إن الرحلة أُطلقت خلال 14 شهرًا من توقيع العقد وكانت المهمة السادسة من HASTE منذ 2023. HASTE — وهي نسخة فرعية من Electron — يمكنها إيصال حمولات بسرعات تفوق 7.5 كم/ث، ومع Electron، قامت حتى الآن بنشر 200+ حمولات لعملاء حكوميين وتجاريين.
- Launched within 14 months of contract signing
- Sixth HASTE launch since vehicle debut in 2023
- HASTE speed capability >7.5 km per second
- 200+ payloads deployed combined by HASTE and Electron
- None.
Insights
Rocket Lab completed a government hypersonics test flight on
Rocket Lab delivered a suborbital HASTE launch for the Defense Innovation Unit and Missile Defense Agency, deploying a primary payload from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and multiple secondary payloads. The mission executed within 14 months of contract signature under DIU’s HyCAT program and marks the sixth HASTE flight, demonstrating the vehicle’s operational use for hypersonic test profiles and government partnerships.
Key dependencies include continued government demand for responsive hypersonic test flights and recurring tasking through DIU/MDA channels; schedule and scope rely on future HyCAT awards and customer flight tempo. Risks remain around mission-specific performance details not disclosed here and the need for sustained contract flow to amortize operational costs.
Watch for follow-on HyCAT contract announcements and additional HASTE manifesting over the next 6–18 months to confirm sustained program traction; monitor statements about mission-specific objectives and any disclosed test results from the MDA or DIU after
LONG BEACH, Calif., Nov. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it successfully launched a suborbital mission with its HASTE launch vehicle for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) - advancing national interests in safeguarding the homeland through the testing of advanced technologies for missile defense.
The launch on HASTE – Rocket Lab’s commercial launch vehicle for regular and reliable hypersonic test flights – took place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 on Wallops Island, Virginia, at 13:00 UTC/08:00 a.m. ET on November 18, 2025. Led by MDA, the mission deployed a government-provided primary payload developed by the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and multiple secondary payloads by federal and industry partners, which tested key technologies for missile defense applications.
The mission was contracted to Rocket Lab through the DIU’s Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities (HyCAT) program, an initiative supporting test and evaluation of new and emerging hypersonic technologies through low cost, responsive and long endurance flight testing. The mission launched within 14 months of contract signing, demonstrating streamlined operational benefits for government customers through Rocket Lab’s commercial speed, innovation, and efficiency. The mission also exemplified the cost and schedule savings that commercial liquid launch vehicles can bring to the MDA test community for developmental testing, non-traditional targets testing, and risk-reduction payload testing activities.
Rocket Lab’s Vice President Global Launch Services, Brian Rogers, says: “HASTE is an important platform for accelerating hypersonic technology readiness for the nation, and we’re proud to be delivering this mission for DIU and MDA.”
LtCol Nicholas Estep, Director of DIU’s Emerging Technology Portfolio, says: “Accessing the commercial and non-traditional ecosystem is a key enabler to accelerating progress in the hypersonics community of interest, particularly for closing mission timelines and driving towards mass and affordability. Working with MDA to demonstrate commercially-focused sub-orbital launch services is a great example of that axiom.”
The mission was Rocket Lab’s sixth launch of its HASTE rocket since the launch vehicle’s debut in 2023. A suborbital variant of Electron - the world’s most frequently launched small orbital rocket - HASTE includes much of the same innovative technology as Electron, including carbon fiber composite structures and 3D printed rocket engines, but has a modified upper Kick Stage tailored for hypersonic technology tests and a larger payload capacity. HASTE can deploy technologies at speeds of more than 7.5km per second to test air-breathing, glide, and ballistic payloads, as well as technologies to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere from space. Combined, the HASTE and Electron launch vehicles have deployed 200+ payloads for government and commercial customers to date.
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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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FAQ
What did Rocket Lab (RKLB) launch on November 18, 2025?
Which organizations provided payloads on the RKLB HASTE mission on Nov 18, 2025?
How soon after contract signing did Rocket Lab launch the DIU HyCAT HASTE mission?
What speeds and tests can RKLB's HASTE vehicle support?
How many HASTE launches has Rocket Lab completed and what is the program history?
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