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Sandra Erwin
~3 minutes
WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab will establish a new launch site in Alaska under a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract for up to 18 suborbital missions, expanding the company’s role in military launch services as the Pentagon seeks more capacity for weapons testing.
The contract, which marks the company’s largest launch award to date, was awarded by the Space Systems Command’s Rocket Systems Launch Program and covers 12 launches, with options for six additional missions. The first launch is scheduled no earlier than the end of 2026.
The contract was announced by the U.S. Space Force on July 21. Rocket Lab confirmed July 27 the award will support the development of a new launch site at the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska. This will give the company a fourth launch site alongside its existing facilities in New Zealand and Virginia.
The award further expands Rocket Lab’s role in national security launches beyond its commercial small satellite business. 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.
The Rocket Systems Launch Program provides responsive launch services for research, development and operational test missions across the Defense Department. The contract announcement did not identify the payloads or specify which launch vehicle Rocket Lab will use.
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.
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.