Rocket Lab Selected by Kratos to Deliver Hypersonic Test 色花堂es for DoD with HASTE Rocket
Long Beach, California. 07 January, 2025. 色花堂, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (鈥淩ocket Lab鈥 or 鈥渢he Company鈥), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it has been selected to be a member of the team, led by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS) (鈥淜ratos鈥), awarded a five-year OTA contract for the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) 2.0 under Task Area 1. The total potential value of the MACH-TB 2.0 Contract Award over a five-year period is $1.45 billion. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD (R&E)) Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) established MACH-TB to support OUSD鈥檚 National Hypersonic Initiative 2.0 by creating an affordable flight test bed to rapidly increase hypersonic flight test capacity. MACH-TB 2.0 will provide an affordable bridge between hypersonic ground tests and system level flight tests.
Kratos was awarded the prime role in Task Area 1 Systems Engineering, Integration, and Testing (SEIT), to include integrated subscale, full-scale, and air launch services to address the need to affordably increase hypersonic flight test cadence. Rocket Lab will join the Kratos-led team of subcontractors that will provide systems engineering, assembly, integration, and test (AI&T), mission planning and execution, and launch services.
Rocket Lab has already served the MACH-TB program, delivering multiple successful hypersonic test launches with the Company鈥檚 HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) rocket from Rocket Lab鈥檚 色花堂 Complex 2 in Wallops, Virginia. HASTE is a suborbital variant of Rocket Lab鈥檚 Electron launch vehicle, which is the United States鈥 second most frequently launched orbital rocket annually.
HASTE includes much of the same innovative technology as Electron, including carbon fiber composite structures and 3D printed rocket engines, but has a modified upper Kick Stage tailored for hypersonic technology tests and a larger payload capacity of up to 700 kg / 1,540 lbs. Combined, Rocket Lab鈥檚 HASTE and Electron launch vehicles have deployed 200+ payloads from its United States and New Zealand launch sites to date.
Rocket Lab鈥檚 Vice President Global 色花堂 Services, Brian Rogers, says: 鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to be part of the Kratos-led team for the next iteration of the MACH-TB program and ready to serve the U.S. Department of Defense with even more high-cadence hypersonic technology with our HASTE launch vehicle. Our demonstrated ability to date to deliver successful HASTE launches that test these new technologies is testament to our dedication in advancing hypersonic innovation for the nation alongside our government and industry partners.鈥
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+ Rocket Lab Media Contact
Murielle Baker
media@rocketlabusa.com
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+ About Rocket Lab
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier, and more affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle, a family of flight proven spacecraft, and the Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab鈥檚 Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 200+ satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations, enabling operations in national security, scientific research, space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Rocket Lab鈥檚 family of spacecraft have been selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a third launch pad in Virginia.听
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+ Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 鈥淪ecurities Act鈥) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 鈥淓xchange Act鈥). All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding our launch and space systems operations, launch schedule and window, safe and repeatable access to space, Neutron development, operational expansion and business strategy are forward-looking statements. The words 鈥渂elieve,鈥 鈥渕ay,鈥 鈥渨ill,鈥 鈥渆stimate,鈥 鈥減otential,鈥 鈥渃ontinue,鈥 鈥渁nticipate,鈥 鈥渋ntend,鈥 鈥渆xpect,鈥 鈥渟trategy,鈥 鈥渇uture,鈥 鈥渃ould,鈥 鈥渨ould,鈥 鈥減roject,鈥 鈥減lan,鈥 鈥渢arget,鈥 and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 鈥淪EC鈥), accessible on the SEC鈥檚 website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of our website at www.rocketlabusa.com, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management鈥檚 estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.
