The 1,000th Rutherford engine has rolled off the production line 🎉 The world's first 3D printed, battery-powered rocket engine is now one of the most manufactured rocket engines on Earth.
Congratulations to the production and development teams behind Rutherford. You make the most complex engineering and manufacturing feats look easy.
Rocket Lab Robotics is coming 🤖
Our acquisition strategy is proven and effective: identify the best space technologies that have struggled to scale, and bring them into the Rocket Lab ecosystem.
That’s what we’re doing with Motiv Space Systems, adding Mars-proven robotics heritage to our rapidly expanding capabilities. As leaders in motion control systems and precision mechanisms, Motiv will also bring in-house traditionally costly and supply-constrained spacecraft components including solar array drive assemblies, antenna and propulsion gimbals, filter wheels, focus mechanisms, and precision drive electronics.
Successful stage separation test campaign âś… We're validating stage separation for Neutron, one of the most novel rocket separation systems ever designed.
From sep system design, component testing and qualification, GSE design, manufacturing, commissioning, and operations planning through to test execution - we're proving out the technology behind one of Neutron's most critical events for mission success.
Up next: moving into intentional off-nominal separation events with non-flight test articles to further push the system's resilience.
It's all gas no breaks with Archimedes engine testing at @nasastennis . Full duration burns with TVC motions across the full conical sweep, vacuum engine hot fires, and both Archimedes test cells in operation all day every day. Archimedes is coming 🔥
🚨 Acquisition Alert: We're welcoming Motiv Space Systems to the Rocket Lab team.
Motiv is renowned for its advanced robotic arms, actuators, and drive electronics that have enabled some of the most ambitious missions, including NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover.
Motiv will also bring in-house critical spacecraft mechanisms such as solar array drive assemblies, antenna and propulsion gimbals, filter wheels, focus mechanisms, and precision drive electronics, completing another key element of our strategy to manufacture satellites at constellation scale.
Rocket Lab and Raytheon have been selected to demonstrate advanced capabilities for the Space Based Interceptor program.
The program is an important step in strengthening national missile defense capabilities and we stand ready to deliver.
We're building next-gen satellites and constellations with speed, reliability, and scale. Our vertically-integrated spacecraft production line in Long Beach, CA brings together our entire ecosystem of products under one roof, where we're producing 40+ spacecraft across multiple defense, commercial, and civil space missions faster than ever
It's a vibe for LOXSAT, our latest launch-plus-spacecraft mission for @nasa and @eta_space ✌️
Our spacecraft has cleared environmental testing, including vacuum and vibrational testing - the moments where analysis meets reality to ensure the spacecraft & Eta Space's LOXSAT payload can withstand launch to space.
Next up: shipping LOXSAT to New Zealand for launch later this year.
Separation systems are a critical part of a launch vehicle. They’re complex mechanisms that have to be strong enough to withstand the rigor of launch, then release cleanly at a precise moment in flight to enable Stage 2 to continue to orbit and Stage 1 to return to Earth.
Stage separation tests are underway with test articles of Neutron’s Stage 2 and upper module. It's one of hundreds of tests we're conducting to ensure we bring a robust and reliable vehicle to market.
MISSION SUCCESS! Payload deployment confirmed for "Kakushin Rising" on our 87th Electron launch.
Congratulations JAXA and welcome to orbit once again 🛰️
Traditional rocket fairings fall away as part of the launch process, making them either expendable or requiring recovery assets to capture and reuse them. Neutron rethinks this equation with the Hungry Hippo fairing.
It stays attached to Neutron’s first stage, opening to release stage two and the payload during launch, before closing up and landing as complete unit with stage one, ready to launch again. It's all part of driving down launch cost and increasing launch cadence to give constellations better access to orbit.
