Rocket Lab (RKLB) successfully launched several government-provided payloads in a suborbital mission using the HASTE launch vehicle, positioning the company to assist in the future deployment of a missile defense system.
The mission, which was launched at Rocket Lab’s (RKLB) Wallops Island, Virginia launch facility for the Defense Innovation Unit and Missile Defense Agency, deployed a payload developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, and multiple secondary payloads by federal and industry partners to test key technologies for missile defense applications.
The mission was contracted through the Defense Innovation Unit’s Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities program and was launched within 14 months of contract signing, demonstrating Rocket Lab’s (RKLB) streamlined operations for government contractors. It was the sixth launch of Rocket Lab’s (RKLB) HASTE rocket since its debut in 2023.