Rocket Lab
@RocketLab • 655,430 subscribers
Official account for Rocket Lab, the end-to-end space company. We build rockets and spacecraft that open access to space to improve life on Earth.
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Videos
We have completed breakover operations for the Neutron Stage 2 tank assembly, rotating the stage horizontal – a critical step in the handling of large rocket sections for integration and assembly. Here’s a last look at Stage 2 on the Neutron Factory floor before it’s wrapped up (literally) for barge shipment to LC-3 on Wallops Island where its fluid systems will be tested and its Archimedes vacuum engine installed.
Rocket Lab219,160 views • 4 days ago
Production of the new carbon composite forward dome for Neutron’s Stage 1 propellant tank is underway. Our automated fiber placement (AFP) machine follows a computer-controlled course to lay down thousands of strands of carbon fiber - each thinner than a human hair - at speeds of up to 100 meters per minute to create Stage 1’s structures on custom molds. Once the AFP machine is finished with the new forward dome it will be rolled out, inspected, then prepared for the curing process to harden the carbon composite.
Rocket Lab227,035 views • 6 days ago
We've just signed Electron's largest commercial launch contract ever: 20x new launches with Earth-observation constellation operator Synspective 🚀🦉 That brings the total number of Synspective launches on Electron to 47 - the most of any Rocket Lab launch customer. We're proud to continue building out their low Earth orbit constellation through to 2031.
Rocket Lab400,028 views • 25 days ago
Rocket Lab is acquiring Iridium Communications Inc – one of the most transformative deals in the space industry. By combining our launch capability and satellite manufacturing with Iridium’s global satellite communications network and rare spectrum, Rocket Lab becomes a fully integrated, self-launching, tier-1 space power, delivering critical communications capability to millions of users worldwide. Full details and important information:
Rocket Lab1,429,260 views • 3 months ago
Pre-flight testing with Hungry Hippo is underway 🦛 We're opening and closing the Hippo's two permanently attached fairing halves under flight-like conditions to simulate how they'll perform for Stage 2 deployment and Neutron's return to Earth. After testing, Hippo will return to its hangar and wait to be attached with Neutron's interstage when it arrives in Virginia.
Rocket Lab622,060 views • 2 months ago
Introducing GHOST. We’ve mastered the art of building launch sites. Now we’re making them deployable worldwide. GHOST = Global Hypersonic & Orbital Spaceport Technology. A containerized, deployable launch site system that enables Electron and HASTE launches anywhere, anytime. Missile defense. Responsive launch. Sovereign launch capability. Delivered where it's needed most. Coming soon across two pads in Alaska in 2027.
Rocket Lab576,897 views • 2 months ago
Rocket Lab began as a small launch company. Today, our rockets, spacecraft, and components power hundreds of missions for science and exploration, national security, and commercial constellations. Here's a tiny glimpse of how far we've evolved since Electron's first launch less than 10 years ago. Rockets unlock space. Satellites do the work. We build and operate both.
Rocket Lab169,466 views • 1 month ago
Archimedes second stage engine full duration burn - complete ✅ (and what a thing of beauty). The AVac (Archimedes Vacuum) engine produces 1.2x lbf of its Stage 1 variant and stands ~2.5m taller thanks to its extended nozzle optimized for the vacuum conditions of space. Recent AVac testing included a stub skirt for the nozzle. Since full length vacuum nozzles at ground level risk flow separation and instability, stub skirts are used to anchor our engineers' analysis for how the engine will perform with the full nozzle in vacuum conditions - all critical preparation for Neutron's first flight.
Rocket Lab534,024 views • 3 months ago
LIFTOFF for Electron! "The Wisdom God Guides" is on its way to space for iQPS / QPS研究所/QPSホールディングス.
Rocket Lab1,515,078 views • 10 months ago
Meet Gauss: Our new in-house designed and built electric propulsion system. Electric propulsion satellite thrusters have historically proven extremely difficult to produce in high volumes, causing supply chain fragility for national security and commercial constellation operators alike. We’ve already established the Gauss production line, designed to produce more than 200 thrusters per year, ensuring we can supply thrusters on demand in large quantities.
Rocket Lab469,367 views • 6 months ago
This is the new era of space: commercial companies delivering the cadence, innovation, and capability that once required a nation. President Trump’s bold, pro-space leadership and commitment to American commercial industry has made this possible. When policy empowers private enterprise to move fast, American space superiority is assured. Check out the full MTS interview with SPB.
Rocket Lab76,364 views • 1 month ago
In missile defense, analysis only gets you so far. Real security and deterrence needs hardware that's tested quickly from the locations that matter. Our GHOST deployable launch system brings all three: the rockets, the infrastructure, and the experience of operating the world's most frequently-launched small lift rockets.
Rocket Lab120,827 views • 2 months ago
Nine years ago today, we launched Electron for the first time. Later this year, Electron is expected to reach 100 launches, likely making it the fastest privately developed orbital rocket to hit that milestone. From “It’s a test” to one of the world’s highest cadence launch vehicles in under a decade. Here's a little walk down memory lane from that first historic launch.
Rocket Lab227,938 views • 5 months ago