"In terms of orbital rockets, only NASA's space shuttle and SpaceX's Falcon 9 vehicles have demonstrated the capability of re-flying an engine. With Rutherford, Rocket Lab has now also flown a rocket engine that landed in the ocean for the first time."

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/rocket-lab-joins-spacex-in-re-flying-a-rocket-engine-to-space/

#RocketLab #RKLB #NewSpace #RutherfordEngine

Now let’s take a look at the Q3 guidance:

-Expect revenue to range from $70-$73M, with $30M coming from launch and 40-$43M coming from space systems.

-Expect Gross margin to range between 21-23%

-Expect an adjusted EBITDA loss of 10-$14M.

#rklb #rocketlab #space #spaceX #stockmarket

Rocket Lab released its earnings yesterday, let’s take a closer look.

Let’s start with the big announcements:

-BlackSky signed a 5 launch contract for electron. Bringing the total contracted launches from BlackSky to eleven!
-A “confidential” customer signed a launch contract for HASTE in 2024.
-Targeting 4 launches this quarter and targeting 15 launches for the whole year.
-Targeting 20 launches for 2024.

#rocketlab #space #blacksky #bksy #rklb #gospace

New mission patches arrived!

#RocketLab #RKLB #BabyComeBack #MissionPatches

CAPSTONE mission details:

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/lunar/

#RocketLab #RKLB #CAPSTONE #Moon #NewSpace

To the moon!

(Wait, we already did that with CAPSTONE!)

#RocketLab #RKLB #NewSpace

Working late while Rocket Lab conducts their "Baby Come Back" mission, where we hopefully will see a booster recovery tonight.

#BabyComeBack #RocketLab #RKLB #ElectronRocket

#rocketlab just got another launch contract from Synspective, bringing the total contracted launches to 6!

Synspective is an Earth observation company focused on SAR imaging.
To date, Rocket Lab has been the sole launcher of the Synspective constellation.

Another cool thing mentioned in the press release:

"In addition to providing Synspective with a high degree over schedule and orbit by flying as a dedicated mission, Rocket Lab also delivers the unique ability to perform an advanced mid-mission maneuver with the Electron rocket’s Kick Stage to shield the StriX satellite from the sun to reduce radiation exposure ahead of payload deployment."

The launches are planned for late 2023.

#gospace #space #rocket #electron #constellation #synspective #rklb

The #psyche mission is almost ready for launch!

The Psyche mission will explore a metal-rich asteroid which is called... well... Psyche!

The launch window opens in October and it will be launched on a Falcon Heavy.

Due to the 1 year delay, they need to take a different route to the asteroid. The new plan is to do a flyby of mars and do a gravity assist.

Psyche uses electric propulsion, which means it needs lots of power. Here is where #rocketlab comes in, they will provide the solar panels to power the spacecraft.

Psyche will reach Psyche in 2029.

#space #nasa #asteroid #solaero #rklb

I forgot to comment on this earlier, but I hope it's a precursor to an eventual state where Rocket Lab has acquired Astra's Hall Effect thrusters and added it to their Space Systems portfolio. It makes a lot more sense there than it does with Astra at the moment.

We'll have to see if Astra gets its act together with Rocket 4 or whether the Astra Spacecraft Engine becomes something else Rocket Lab picks up in a firesale.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/05/astra-establishes-subsidiary-for-spacecraft-engine-business/

#RocketLab #RKLB #Astra #ASTR #NewSpace

While I'm a big fan of Rocket Lab across the board, I especially dig the fun names they give their missions.

Looking forward to "Baby Come Back" next week!

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/completed-missions/baby-come-back/

#RocketLab #RKLB

@laimis And there's a part of me rooting for Astra to finally bite it, and for Peter Beck to pick up the Hall Effect engine Astra is selling (picked up from the Apollo Fusion acquisition) and making it part of Rocket Lab's Space Services portfolio.

It's not an engine powerful enough to lift anything out of Earth's gravity well, but IS being used on satellites already in orbit to navigate and maintain position.

https://astra.com/space-products/astra-spacecraft-engine/

#ASTR #RKLB #RocketLab #Astra #HallEffectThruster

@laimis It's good to see one of my launcher bets paying off.* :-)

I invested in Astra and Virgin Orbit and both of those have been pretty much complete losses, though Astra protests otherwise and that they'll get that share price back up with the un-flown Rocket 4.

* Since I got in early in the SPAC days, I'm still underwater on RKLB, but that's not a problem, as I have full faith in the company and expect it to surge once the market calms down a bit.

#RKLB #ASTR #VORB #NewSpace

"With a total of nine launches last year and as many as 15 planned for 2023, Rocket Lab now flies more boosters than any other company in the world not named SpaceX. In recent years, Rocket Lab's cadence has surpassed United Launch Alliance, Arianespace, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and other major players."

"This year, Rocket Lab may even launch as many boosters as Russia does, something that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago."

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/05/rocket-lab-hitting-its-stride-with-high-cadence-new-venture-for-electron/

#RocketLab #RKLB

And Rocket Lab checks off another successful launch while I was sleeping last night from New Zealand.

https://www.youtube.com/live/rvPcY3SrgAs?feature=share&t=6390

#RKLB #RocketLab #NewSpace #BlackSky

I'm liking this up-tempo launch cadence.

(Especially since I picked up a good number of shares this morning to drive my average cost basis lower!)

https://www.space.com/rocket-lab-launch-booster-recovery-livestream-march-2023

#RocketLab #RKLB #NewSpace

@robpegoraro Being in Chicago, I had to be content watching the YouTube live stream.

#rocketlab #rklb #wallops

Still doesn't get old!

#rocketlab #rklb #newspace #launch

Houston, we have Live Stream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIMaf8X0FlM

#rocketlab #rklb #launch #wallops

Fingers crossed that we'll see another successful launch from the Wallops complex this evening!

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/next-mission/

#rklb #rocketlab #newspace #wallops