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LONG BEACH, Calif., May 14, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) ("Rocket Lab" or the "Company"), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it has been selected by NASA to launch its Aspera mission, an astrophysics science mission designed to study the formation and evolution of galaxies and provide new insights into how the universe works.
Rocket Lab will launch the Aspera spacecraft on Electron from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 no earlier than Q1 2026. Through the use of a telescope to study ultraviolet light, Aspera will examine hot gas in the space between galaxies, called the intergalactic medium, that is thought to contribute to the birth of stars and planets. Aspera will be the first NASA astrophysics mission to gather and map these ultraviolet light signatures, potentially unlocking a deeper understanding of the origins of stars, planets, and life in the universe.
Aspera joins a list of NASA science missions awarded to Rocket Lab including the CAPSTONE mission launched to the Moon by Electron and operated by Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon spacecraft; NASA’s hurricane monitoring TROPICS mission launched across two Electron launches in May 2023; the agency’s PREFIRE climate change-focused mission studying melting ice caps in the Antarctic; and other small satellite science and technology missions launched on Electron since 2018.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: "As a long trusted launch partner for NASA’s most pioneering small satellites, it’s great to be able to continue that support for another innovative science mission like Aspera. Electron has proven itself to be the premier small launcher through complete launch schedule control and reliably accurate orbital deployment, and we’re looking forward to delivering that again for Aspera."
Aspera is part of NASA’s Pioneers Program in the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters, which funds compelling astrophysics science research at a lower cost. The Aspera mission was awarded to Rocket Lab through NASA’s Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) program, a five-year contracting vehicle for placing NASA’s science and technology payloads on U.S. commercial launchers.
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 HASTE suborbital launch vehicle for hypersonic tests, a family of flight proven spacecraft, and the larger 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. Rocket Lab has deployed 200+ payloads from its launch sites in the United States and New Zealand 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 family of spacecraft have 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.