Neutron for NSSL

Rocket Lab has been selected by the U.S. Space Force to compete for the Department of Defense’s highest-priority national security missions for its National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 program. The firm-fixed price, indefinite delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract has a five-year ordering period that will run through to June 2029 with a maximum value of $5.6 billion. The program plans to award a minimum of 30 missions within its contracting period through to 2029, with the potential for an extension through to 2034.

Rocket Lab’s launch vehicle for the program will be Neutron, its 13-ton reusable carbon composite medium-lift launch vehicle being rapidly developed to meet the demand for high assurance national security missions, and for single and multi-satellite constellation deployment. Designed to deploy payloads up to 13,000 kg, Neutron is being brought to the market at an unprecedented development pace on the foundation of Rocket Lab’s industry leadership as one of the world’s most frequent and reliable launch providers, with 63 Electron launches to date and one of only two U.S. launch providers to have launched multiple payloads to orbit so far in 2025. With Neutron’s first launch scheduled for the second half of the year, Rocket Lab met the program’s eligibility requirements to be selected to compete for the NSSL program, and upon a successful flight on Neutron, will be eligible to further compete for individual task orders awarded within the NSSL program. Neutron’s debut launch from Launch Complex 3 in Wallops Island, Virginia, will be the first launch vehicle to support the NSSL program from the region.