Rocket Lab Gains 2.6% After NASA Selection

Rocket Lab Wins NASA Launch Contracts

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) saw its shares increase by 2.6% in post‑market trading on Thursday after NASA announced the selection of the company to perform three Electron rocket launches for two distinct science missions. The first two launches will be back‑to‑back Electron missions for NASA’s PolSIR (Polarized Submillimeter Ice‑cloud Radiometer) program, scheduled from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand no earlier than June 2027. PolSIR will place two identical CubeSats into separate 52‑degree inclination, non‑sun‑synchronous orbits to investigate ice‑cloud formation, variability, and ice content in tropical and sub‑tropical regions, with the data intended to enhance Earth‑system weather prediction models.

The third launch will support NASA’s TSIS‑2 (Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor‑2) mission, also from the same New Zealand site, slated for early 2027. TSIS‑2 will carry a single satellite designed to measure the Sun’s energy output at the top of Earth’s atmosphere across ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths. NASA secured the TSIS‑2 launch within seven months of contract signing to satisfy time‑sensitive mission requirements.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck remarked that the Electron vehicle has become synonymous with reliability, precise orbital accuracy, and on‑demand launch capability, noting the company’s decade‑long service to NASA missions. In addition to the PolSIR and TSIS‑2 contracts, Rocket Lab indicated that its manifest includes further NASA missions such as the Aspera astrophysics mission and the LOXSAT mission, the latter planned to use Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft to demonstrate in‑space refueling technologies.