majorprocurementupdated 7 Aug2026-07-21

Rocket Lab wins $266 million Space Force contract for HASTE launches

Space Systems Command awarded Rocket Lab $266 million for 12 HASTE suborbital launches from Alaska, with an option for six more.

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what happened

The U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command awarded Rocket Lab a $266 million firm-fixed-price contract for 12 suborbital HASTE launches from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska, per GovConWire and Yahoo Finance. HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) is a suborbital variant of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket used for hypersonics testing. The contract, awarded competitively over three offers submitted, carries an option for six additional launches and runs through December 31, 2028, with $112 million in fiscal 2025 R&D funds obligated at award. SpaceNews reports the Kodiak site will be Rocket Lab's fourth launch location alongside its existing pads in New Zealand and Virginia, supporting the Pentagon's Rocket Systems Launch Program, with the first of the up to 18 missions targeted no earlier than the end of 2026.

why it matters

The award complements a $190 million DoD contract Rocket Lab won in March for 20 other HASTE flights, underscoring recurring, high-value government demand for hypersonics test launches as a distinct revenue line alongside Rocket Lab's orbital Electron and Neutron businesses. A fourth launch site also diversifies Rocket Lab's ground infrastructure beyond New Zealand and Virginia as its suborbital test manifest grows.