Overview
- Rocket Lab said the fixed, reusable upper module completed qualification and acceptance testing this week.
- The fairing section has been sent to Launch Complex 3 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia for integration with Neutron’s first stage.
- Tests included withstanding up to 275,000 pounds of force and rapid open–close cycling to validate the actuators and structure.
- Next steps include fairing integration followed by prelaunch checks such as a static hotfire of Neutron’s nine Archimedes engines.
- Neutron is a carbon-composite, medium-lift rocket reported at about 141 feet tall with up to roughly 28,700 pounds to low Earth orbit, positioned as a lower-cost competitor to Falcon 9.