The contract was awarded by Space Systems Command’s Rocket Systems Launch Program, which provides responsive launch services for research, development and operational test missions across the Defense Department. The award comes as the Pentagon seeks to increase the pace of hypersonic flight testing and missile defense development, areas where defense officials have said limited test infrastructure has slowed progress.
The U.S. Space Force announced the contract on July 21. Rocket Lab confirmed on July 27 that the award will support development of a new launch site at the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska, described as Launch Complex 4. The facility will give the company a fourth launch site alongside its existing locations in New Zealand and Virginia.
The contract covers 12 launches, with options for six additional missions, for a total of up to 18. The first launch is scheduled no earlier than the end of 2026. The announcement did not identify the payloads or specify which launch vehicle Rocket Lab will use. The company has increasingly positioned its Electron-derived HASTE suborbital vehicle as a platform for hypersonic and missile defense testing, completing multiple missions for Pentagon customers in recent years.
Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Peter Beck said the contract reflects the military’s demand for more frequent launch opportunities to support missile defense programs.
The award further expands Rocket Lab’s role in national security launches beyond its commercial small satellite business. Beck framed the deal as a response to the military’s need for more frequent launch opportunities tied to missile defense programs, and the contract marks the company’s largest launch award to date.
The first launch under the contract is scheduled no earlier than the end of 2026 as Rocket Lab develops the Kodiak site.
