Rocket Lab USA, Inc (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, has today announced it has signed another block buy deal for five Electron launches with BlackSky, a leading provider of real-time geospatial intelligence and global monitoring services.
Rocket Lab has launched six Electron missions for BlackSky since 2019, becoming the primary launch provider for BlackSky’s constellation. With these five new launches added to the manifest, BlackSky has contracted more Electron launches than any other single commercial customer. The launches are expected to begin in 2024 from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.
“After four years of launching for BlackSky, we’re delighted to continue our partnership with more dedicated launches on Electron,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “Building and maintaining a constellation requires precision deployment to unique orbits and a dependable launch schedule. We’re proud to deliver this dependable and tailored capability launch after launch, year after year.”
BlackSky’s next-generation Gen-3 satellites are designed to produce images with up to 35-centimeter resolution. Increased resolution and enhanced spectral diversity extend BlackSky’s ability to provide real-time insights to its customers in a broad set of conditions, including nighttime, low light and challenging weather.
The new BlackSky launches join a busy Electron manifest in 2024 featuring missions for commercial constellation operators Capella Space, Kinéis, Hawkeye 360, and Synspective, as well as a variety of government missions.
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 and the Photon satellite platform and is developing the Neutron 13-ton payload class launch vehicle. 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 170 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 site in Virginia, USA.