Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB), a world chief in launch providers and house techniques and a serious pioneering adopter of AM for rocket engine manufacturing, has been chosen by the U.S. House Pressure to compete for the Division of Protection’s highest-priority nationwide safety missions for its Nationwide Safety House Launch (NSSL) Part 3 Lane 1 program by way of its Neutron vector. The firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract has a five-year ordering interval that can run via June 2029 and has a most worth of $5.6 billion.
“Neutron is a strong new launch possibility that can set a brand new customary for efficiency, affordability, and reliability in medium launch, and its choice to this system demonstrates a excessive diploma of confidence by the Division of Protection in Neutron’s capabilities forward of its first launch later this 12 months–added Beck. We are able to’t wait to showcase Neutron because the necessary platform it would change into for the Division of Protection.”
Rocket Lab’s launch car for this system will probably be Neutron, a 13-ton reusable carbon composite medium-lift launch car being quickly developed to satisfy the demand for high-assurance nationwide safety missions and for single—and multi-satellite constellation deployment.
Designed to deploy payloads as much as 13,000 kg, Neutron is being delivered to the market at an unprecedented growth tempo on the inspiration of Rocket Lab’s business management as one of many world’s most frequent and dependable launch suppliers, with 63 Electron launches to this point and one in every of solely two U.S. launch suppliers to have launched a number of payloads to orbit to this point in 2025.
With Neutron’s first launch scheduled for the second half of the 12 months, Rocket Lab met this system’s eligibility necessities to be chosen to compete for the NSSL program, and upon a profitable flight on Neutron, will probably be eligible to additional compete for particular person process orders awarded throughout the NSSL program. Neutron’s debut launch from Launch Complicated 3 in Wallops Island, Virginia, would be the first launch car to assist the NSSL program from the area.
As one in every of solely 5 launch suppliers chosen for the Division of Protection’s program, eligibility for NSSL Lane 1 contains stringent necessities that intention to develop a diversified, aggressive, and dependable home launch base to offer launch providers for its highest-priority nationwide safety missions.
This system plans to award a minimal of 30 missions inside its contracting interval via to 2029, with the potential for an extension via to 2034. As a part of the on-ramp to the NSSL program, Rocket Lab receives a $5 million process order to carry out a capabilities evaluation demonstrating the Firm’s tailor-made strategy to mission assurance for launches awarded via the NSSL program.
