Rocket Lab Secures Major Multi-Launch Agreement — Shares Hits All-Time High
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Oct 8 – Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares advanced about 6% in premarket trading Wednesday after the space company secured a new multi-launch agreement with Japan’s Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, according to a Wednesday press release.
The deal designates Rocket Lab as the main launch provider for iQPS’s commercial Earth-imaging satellite network. It includes three dedicated Electron missions scheduled to begin no earlier than 2026 from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
The latest contract expands Rocket Lab’s planned launches for iQPS to seven in total. Each mission will deliver a single synthetic aperture radar satellite using Rocket Lab’s Motorized Lightband separation system, a component that highlights the company’s integrated launch and space hardware capabilities.
CEO Sir Peter Beck said iQPS’s choice of both the Electron rocket and Rocket Lab’s deployment hardware reflects the benefits of an integrated service that supports faster and more reliable access to orbit.
Rocket Lab said it is scaling up manufacturing and flight frequency to handle more than 20 launches in 2025. The company’s next launch for iQPS is slated for November. RKLB shares recently traded at all-time highs, with short interest above 10% of float.
