Rocket Lab to Launch HASTE Mission from Virginia

Ibadan, 10  August 2023. – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has announced it has signed a new launch service agreement with a confidential customer for a HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) mission. The mission will consequently launch from Complex 2 at Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in 2024.

The contract signing with the 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. According to the Company, this demonstrates rapid and reliable launch capability for Government and commercial programs.

“After delivering mission success with our HASTE launch in June, we’re glad to deliver this crucial capability once again, enabling our customers to accelerate hypersonic innovation,” said Brian Rogers, Senior Director – Global Launch Services, Rocket Lab. “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 from the Company’s Electron rocket. As a result, the launch service Company is leveraging Electron’s deep flight heritage for the HASTE program. The Program also offers true commercial testing capability on rapid schedules and at a fraction of the cost of current full-scale tests. With designs that are 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.