Rocket Lab to Launch Small Satellite Swarm for NASA
May 09 2023 - 3:17PM
Business Wire
Four Starling satellites have been added to
Electron’s 2023 manifest.
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the
Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems,
today announced it has signed a deal to launch NASA’s Starling
mission, a multi-CubeSat mission to test and demonstrate autonomous
swarm technologies, as well as automated space traffic management
for groups of spacecraft in low-Earth orbit.
The four Starling small satellites have been manifested on an
Electron commercial rideshare mission scheduled for lift-off from
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand in Q3 this year. Rocket
Lab will deliver the satellites to space within three months of the
contract signing.
The Starling mission is designed to test technologies to enable
future “swarm” missions. Spacecraft swarms refer to multiple
spacecraft autonomously coordinating their activities to achieve
certain goals. Starling will explore technologies for in-space
network communications, onboard relative navigation between
spacecraft, autonomous maneuver planning and execution, and
distributed science autonomy.
“Electron has been delivering rapid and reliable access to orbit
for NASA since 2018 and we’re delighted to continue that strong
heritage with the Starling mission,” said Rocket Lab founder and
CEO Peter Beck. “Starling has the potential to revolutionize the
way science is done in orbit and we’re immensely proud to make that
possible.”
NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program within the agency’s
Space Technology Mission Directorate manages the Starling project.
The program is based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s
Silicon Valley. Starling joins a growing list of NASA missions
launched by Rocket Lab since 2018, including the ELaNa-19
educational CubeSat program, the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon, and
two dedicated Electron launches for the NASA TROPICS mission.
+ About Rocket Lab
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with
an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable
launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and
on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier and more
affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach,
California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small
orbital launch vehicle, the Photon satellite platform and the
Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for
constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January
2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second
most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 161
satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations,
enabling operations in national security, scientific research,
space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and
communications. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been
selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as
the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three
launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a
private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a third
launch pad in Virginia. To learn more, visit
www.rocketlabusa.com.
+ FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain certain “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. These forward-looking statements are based on Rocket Lab’s
current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and
their potential effects. These forward-looking statements involve a
number of risks, uncertainties (many of which are beyond Rocket
Lab’s control), or other assumptions that may cause actual results
or performance to be materially different from those expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements. Many factors could
cause actual future events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements in this press release, including risks
related to the global COVID-19 pandemic; risks related to
government restrictions and lock-downs in New Zealand and other
countries in which we operate that could delay or suspend our
operations; delays and disruptions in expansion efforts; our
dependence on a limited number of customers; the harsh and
unpredictable environment of space in which our products operate
which could adversely affect our launch vehicle and spacecraft;
increased congestion from the proliferation of low Earth orbit
constellations which could materially increase the risk of
potential collision with space debris or another spacecraft and
limit or impair our launch flexibility and/or access to our own
orbital slots; increased competition in our industry due in part to
rapid technological development and decreasing costs; technological
change in our industry which we may not be able to keep up with or
which may render our services uncompetitive; average selling price
trends; failure of our launch vehicles, spacecraft and components
to operate as intended either due to our error in design in
production or through no fault of our own; launch schedule
disruptions; supply chain disruptions, product delays or failures;
design and engineering flaws; launch failures; natural disasters
and epidemics or pandemics; changes in governmental regulations
including with respect to trade and export restrictions, or in the
status of our regulatory approvals or applications; or other events
that force us to cancel or reschedule launches, including customer
contractual rescheduling and termination rights; risks that
acquisitions may not be completed on the anticipated time frame or
at all or do not achieve the anticipated benefits and results; and
the other risks detailed from time to time in Rocket Lab’s filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including
under the heading “Risk Factors” in Rocket Lab’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, which was
filed with the SEC on March 7, 2023, and elsewhere (including that
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may also exacerbate the risks
discussed therein). There can be no assurance that the future
developments affecting Rocket Lab will be those that we have
anticipated. Except as required by law, Rocket Lab is not
undertaking any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
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+ Rocket Lab Media Contact Mike Atchue
media@rocketlabusa.com
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