Rocket Lab said Wednesday its Neutron rocket won't launch until 2027, blaming a manufacturing defect found in the carbon composite propellant tank domes of the first stage. CEO Peter Beck said engineers discovered voids, or air pockets, between layers of carbon fiber in the domes, forcing a pause in production to investigate. The delay confirms what industry observers had already suspected after Rocket Lab's August update left little room for a 2026 launch.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-10-15
NASA has accelerated its DAVINCI atmospheric probe mission to Venus, now set for a December 2030 launch, a year earlier than previously scheduled. Its sister mission, the VERITAS orbiter, is slated to launch in November 2032, while ESA's EnVision orbiter is also planned for 2032, and Rocket Lab hopes to send a privately funded cloud-sampling probe as early as next year.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-10-14
Rocket Lab announced a new agreement with Japanese radar-imaging company Synspective covering 20 additional Electron launches, its largest single launch services agreement to date. This extends Synspective's total bookings with Rocket Lab to 47 missions, including 13 already flown since 2020 carrying the company's StriX radar satellites. The deal follows Rocket Lab's most recent Synspective launch on September 25.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-10-02
Rocket Lab has filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office challenging NASA's decision to award Blue Origin a contract worth roughly $700 million to build, launch and operate a Mars Telecommunications Network spacecraft. Rocket Lab argues NASA's selection violated eligibility criteria set by Congress in the funding legislation and that its own technical proposal was reviewed unfairly.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-14
United Launch Alliance remains one of the few major US rocket companies still focused almost entirely on launch services rather than branching into satellites, spacecraft, or other space businesses. Competitors like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, and Firefly Aerospace have all expanded beyond launch to capture higher-margin revenue streams, leaving ULA increasingly isolated in a low-margin segment of the industry. This has renewed speculation about whether ULA's parent companies, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, will eventually sell the venture.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-11
GoKawiil