Rocket Lab USA, a global leader in launch services and space systems, has signed a new launch services agreement with a confidential customer for a HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) mission from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in 2024.
The contract signing with a new customer came just days after Rocket Lab successfully launched the first HASTE mission on 17 June 2023 for Leidos under the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) program. The mission was Rocket Lab’s third mission from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport since the Company began launches from U.S. soil in January this year, demonstrating rapid and reliable launch capability for government and commercial programs.
Brian Rogers, Senior Director – Global Launch Services, Rocket Lab said, “We’re immensely proud to be delivering a vital capability to the nation by increasing the cadence and availability of hypersonic and suborbital flight testing to enable technology maturation.”
Rocket Lab’s HASTE suborbital launch vehicle is derived from the Company’s workhorse Electron rocket – the world’s most frequently launched commercial small launch vehicle. Leveraging Electron’s deep flight heritage, HASTE offers true commercial testing capability on rapid schedules and at a fraction of the cost of current full-scale tests. Tailored specifically for suborbital and hypersonic test flight capability, HASTE has a modified Kick Stage, a larger payload capacity of up to 700 kg / 1,540 lbs, and options for tailored fairings to accommodate larger payloads.
