Overview
- Under the Pentagon’s MACH-TB 2.0 program, Rocket Lab will conduct 20 HASTE hypersonic test flights over four years in a task led by Kratos Defense, with the first mission expected within months.
- The award is Rocket Lab’s largest launch contract to date and pushes its launch backlog above 70 missions, taking combined launch and space-systems bookings to more than $2 billion.
- Rocket Lab says HASTE, a suborbital variant of Electron, has flown multiple Mach 5+ missions since 2023 with a stated 100% success rate to date.
- The company disclosed an equity distribution agreement to sell up to $1 billion of common stock, a move that pressured shares after a prior rally tied to two imminent Electron missions for Synspective and the European Space Agency.
- Fresh analyst coverage included Clear Street initiating at Buy with an $88 target, adding to a spectrum of bullish views that also features Bank of America’s $120 target and Deutsche Bank’s recent raise to $73.