Rocket Report: New launch rule may limit environmental regulations, Falcon 9 to hit Moon
Welcome to Edition 9.05 of the Rocket Report! It was a big week for launch contracts, with both Rocket Lab and SpaceX scoring sizable deals from the US military for their respective Electron and Falcon 9 rockets. The vehicles have been the workhorses for small and medium lift for the United States over the past decade and may remain so for some time. Also, there will be no Rocket Report next week, as I am traveling on assignment, and Stephen is taking a week off. As always, we welcome reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar. Rocket Lab wins large Electron deal . Rocket Lab Corporation announced this week that it has been awarded its largest launch contract to date, a $266 million multi-launch contract with the US Space Force. Under the contract awarded by the US Space Force Space Systems Command, Rocket Lab will execute 12 suborbital launches, with up to six additional launches. The first launch of this contract is expected no earlier than the end of 2026. Read full article Comments
“America won the first Space Race, and we can do it again.”
New site in Alaska … The launches, likely at least in part for hypersonic testing, will primarily take place from a new Rocket Lab location at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska in Kodiak, Alaska. “The size and scale of this contract reflects the Space Force’s confidence in our ability to meet their urgent national security demands with speed, responsiveness, and scale, and we’re proud to provide the high-frequency launch capacity required to keep the US ahead of global threats,” said Sir Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, in the news release.
RFA One launch delayed . Rocket Factory Augsburg had been closing in on the debut launch of its RFA One rocket but discovered an issue this week. “After a successful week of testing RFA One on the pad for the first time, we encountered an issue with the vehicle that requires further investigation,” the company said on social media. “We have made the decision to de-stack the vehicle in order to investigate.”
