Tag: Rocket Lab
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Rocket Lab delays debut of Neutron rocket to 2026
An artist’s rendering of a Rocket Lab Neutron rocket during stage separation. Illustration: Rocket Lab The inaugural flight of Rocket Lab’s reusable, medium-lift Neutron rocket is now set for 2026, instead of this year. The company said more testing and qualification work was needed. Sir Peter Beck, the CEO of Rocket Lab, announced the shift…
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NASA scrubs ESCAPADE launch due to ‘highly elevated solar activity’
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket designed for the NG-2 mission is pictured at sunset at Launch Complex 36, the evening of Nov. 8, 2025. The rocket will carry NASA’s ESCAPADE mission along with a payload demonstration for Viasat. Image: Adam Bernstein / Spaceflight Now Update Nov. 12, 10:40 a.m. EST (1540 UTC): NASA scrubbed the…
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Rocket Lab Delays First Neutron Rocket Launch to 2026
Rocket Lab has postponed the inaugural flight of its Neutron rocket to 2026, citing the need for more testing and qualification work. CEO Sir Peter Beck announced the delay during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Nov. 10, saying the goal is to deliver Neutron to the Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in early…
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Launch Roundup: New Glenn, Viasat, & Sentinel-6B highlight busy week of launches
This week’s launch schedule featured two high-profile launches that were pushed back after scrubs from last week, as well as the Sentinel-6B mission and two Starlink missions for SpaceX. A suborbital Electron HASTE mission from Wallops is also scheduled. New Glenn’s second launch, featuring the Mars-bound ESCAPADE payload, was scheduled to launch no earlier than…
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Rocket Lab Launches iQPS Satellite on Sixth Mission for Japanese Earth-Imaging Firm
*]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports-[content-visibility:auto]:[contain-intrinsic-size:auto_100lvh] scroll-mt-[calc(var(–header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]” dir=”auto” tabindex=”-1″ data-turn-id=”request-WEB:7adac108-e90a-45dc-9fe0-7a16dc96bce8-1″ data-testid=”conversation-turn-4″ data-scroll-anchor=”true” data-turn=”assistant” style=”height: auto !important;”> Rocket Lab successfully launched its sixth mission for Japanese Earth-imaging company iQPS on Tuesday, deploying another satellite to strengthen the firm’s constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) spacecraft. An Electron rocket carrying the QPS-SAR-14 satellite, named Yachihoko-I, lifted off from Rocket Lab’s…
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Rocket Lab launches 7th StriX Earth observation satellites for Japan-based Synspective
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 1 at Mahia, New Zealand on the ‘Owl New World’ mission for Synspective. Image: Rocket Lab Japan-based Earth observation company, Synspective, launched its seventh StriX satellite into low Earth orbit, part of a multi-launch deal with Rocket Lab. On Wednesday morning in Mahia, New Zealand…
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Peter Beck discusses Neutron development as maiden flight nears
Rocket Lab’s ambitious push to launch its Neutron medium-lift rocket before the end of the year is entering the home stretch, with CEO Sir Peter Beck telling NSF that his team is “literally sleeping in the factories” to meet the aggressive timeline. “We’ll be there on the last day of December until the last hour…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 launches Starlink and Kuiper satellites
SpaceX is scheduled to launch up to three times this week, with each mission planned to deploy internet communications satellites into low-Earth orbit: two for the company’s own Starlink megaconstellation and one for its competitor, Amazon’s Project Kuiper. China kicked off the week’s launch manifest, for those in UTC, with the launch of its 100th…
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Voyager Technologies Taps Vivace to Build Starlab Space Station Structure
Voyager Technologies has selected Vivace Corporation to produce the primary structure of the Starlab commercial space station, the companies announced Wednesday. Vivace, an aerospace manufacturer serving NASA, United Launch Alliance, Rocket Lab, and Northrop Grumman, will carry out design-to-manufacture work and begin production at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, Louisiana. Earlier this year,…
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Rocket Lab eyes Mars Telecommunications Orbiter as NASA revives mission concept
Rocket Lab—the operator of the world’s second-busiest orbital rocket—has been touting its vision for a Mars Telecommunications Orbiter. Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, laid out a compelling case during an exclusive interview with NSF on Wednesday. The interest lies in a revived $700 million congressional push to bridge Earth and the Red…