Rocket Lab

Overview Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) is a U.S.-headquartered, end‑to‑end space company founded in 2006 by Peter Beck in New Zealand. The company provides orbital launch services, spacecraft manufacturing, and satellite components. Rocket Lab’s global footprint includes headquarters and spacecraft production in Long Beach, California; launch operations in New Zealand and Virginia; and additional facilities in New Mexico (solar manufacturing), Maryland (composites and separation systems), Colorado (flight software), and Toronto, Canada (satellite components). Launch Services • Electron: A two‑stage small‑lift launch vehicle with an optional kick stage (Photon). Electron is designed to deliver up to ~300 kg to low Earth orbit and ~200 kg class to sun‑synchronous orbit, supporting dedicated and rideshare missions for civil, defense, and commercial customers. Electron became operational in 2018 and has completed 70+ missions by late 2025, including rapid‑cadence campaigns for Earth‑observation constellations and NASA science payloads. • HASTE: A suborbital variant of Electron (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) used for hypersonics, re‑entry, and materials testing from the company’s U.S. launch site in Virginia. • Launch sites: Rocket Lab operates Launch Complex 1 (Pads LC‑1A and LC‑1B) on the Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand, and Launch Complex 2 at the Mid‑Atlantic Regional Spaceport (Wallops Island, Virginia, USA), enabling high‑frequency access to a range of orbits. Medium‑Lift Development: Neutron • Neutron is a partially reusable, 13‑ton‑to‑LEO class launch vehicle tailored for constellation deployment and national security missions. It uses methalox Archimedes engines and is designed for booster return‑to‑launch‑site operations. • Infrastructure: Neutron’s dedicated test, launch, and landing facility (Launch Complex 3) opened at Wallops Island, Virginia, in August 2025. Engine testing infrastructure and development are in the U.S., with structures and composites production within Rocket Lab’s vertically integrated network. Space Systems (Satellites & Components) • Spacecraft buses: Rocket Lab designs and produces a family of spacecraft platforms that range from the small, high‑delta‑V “Explorer” (deep‑space capable) and configurable “Pioneer,” to higher‑power “Lightning,” alongside the Electron‑hosted “Photon” platform for on‑orbit missions and interplanetary transfers. • Missions and services: The company builds and operates spacecraft for customers across government and commercial markets, including mission design, assembly/integration/test, flight software, ground systems, and on‑orbit operations. Examples include NASA’s CAPSTONE lunar mission (delivered to a near‑rectilinear halo orbit via Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon) and the twin ESCAPADE spacecraft built for NASA/UC Berkeley to study Mars’ magnetosphere. • Components portfolio: Through acquisitions and in‑house development, Rocket Lab supplies critical satellite hardware industry‑wide—reaction wheels and star trackers (Sinclair Interplanetary), separation systems and dispensers including Lightband and CSD (Planetary Systems Corporation), and space‑grade solar cells and arrays (SolAero). These products are used on hundreds of spacecraft, from commercial constellations to deep‑space science missions. Notable Programs & Customers • NASA: Multiple Electron launches for science missions, including the PREFIRE pair of CubeSats in 2024, and interplanetary support via Photon (CAPSTONE to the Moon). Rocket Lab also builds the twin ESCAPADE spacecraft bound for Mars. • Commercial EO & SAR: Dedicated launch campaigns for operators such as Synspective (StriX), Capella Space (Acadia), iQPS, BlackSky, and Kinéis (IoT), supporting rapid constellation build‑outs with tailored orbits and back‑to‑back launch windows. • National Security: Frequent missions from both New Zealand and the United States, plus U.S.‑based manufacturing of spacecraft, solar arrays, and other flight hardware to meet supply‑chain, security, and responsiveness requirements. Technology & Differentiators • Electron’s Rutherford engines are electric‑pump‑fed and extensively additively manufactured, enabling fast production and upgrades. Rocket Lab has developed recovery and re‑use techniques for Electron hardware to improve responsiveness and cost. • Vertical integration across launch, spacecraft, avionics, solar power, separation systems, composites, and flight software reduces program risk and timelines and enables constellation‑scale production. • Global, dual‑hemisphere launch access with dedicated pads supports schedule assurance and tailored orbital insertions, including precise SSO, inclined LEO, and interplanetary transfer profiles. Corporate • Type: Public company listed on Nasdaq (ticker: RKLB) since 2021. • Founder & CEO: Peter Beck. • Headquarters: Long Beach, California, USA, with significant operations in New Zealand and multiple U.S. states. • Strategy: Maintain Electron as a high‑cadence, responsive launcher; scale Space Systems as a diversified revenue engine; and introduce Neutron to compete in the medium‑lift segment with reusability and rapid‑turn operations.