ORLANDO, Fla. — As Rocket Lab prepares to begin tests of the first Archimedes engine for its Neutron launch vehicle, the company says that the rocket won’t be ready for its first flight before the middle of 2025.
Rocket Lab announced May 6 that it had completed the first Archimedes engine and installed it on a test stand at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The company has started a test campaign for that methane/liquid oxygen engine that includes what it calls “a number of engine system activations” ahead of a static-fire test.
The company previous said development of Archimedes, as well as the overall Neutron rocket, was on a schedule that would allow a first launch around the end of the year, a timeline the company affirmed in a February earnings call. In its announcement about Archimedes testing, though, Rocket Lab said it now projected a first launch of the rocket no earlier than mid-2025.
In a May 6 earnings call about Rocket Lab’s first quarter financial results, Peter Beck, chief executive of the company, said the delay was not linked to a specific technical problem with the engine or rocket. “We didn’t run up against a wall and had to solve something major technically,” he said. “Just a whole bunch of stuff that just sort of adds up.”
Many in the industry were skeptical about Rocket Lab’s earlier schedule for Neutron’s first launch because the company had yet to start testing Archimedes, a process that, for some other engines, starts years before first flight. Beck, in the earnings call, acknowledged that engine development is the “long pole” in development of any new launch vehicle.
“Getting Neutron to the pad this year was an ambitious green-light schedule that we had a path to closing if every single aspect went exactly according to plan,” he said. “But as we’ve always said, this is a rocket development program and this is always filled with gremlins, some in our control and some not.”
The revised timeline, he said later in the call, is still a “green light” schedule that includes no significant schedule margin. “It’s almost impossible to build a sensible engineering buffer in because you never really know the elements that are going to cause your problem,” he said, adding that if he had asked the company’s engineers to add margin to their schedules, the result would have been a first launch in 2040.
Rocket Lab is making progress in other aspects of Neutron, building composite structures for parts of the rocket as well as elements of the vehicle’s launch site, Launch Complex 3 at Wallops Island, Virginia. Adam Spice, Rocket Lab’s chief financial officer, said the company still anticipates spending $250 million to $300 million on the development of Neutron.
The company also backed away somewhat from earlier forecasts for launches of its Electron rocket. That small launch vehicle has flown five times so far this year, with the next launch scheduled for no earlier than May 22 carrying the first of two cubesats for NASA’s PREFIRE Earth science mission. The second cubesat will fly on another Electron no later than three weeks after the first.
The company said in its February earnings call that it projected 22 Electron launches in 2024, including two of a suborbital version called HASTE. However, Beck said on the May 6 call that it is unlikely it will be able to carry out all 22 because of customer delays.
“Across the 22 missions sold for 2024, we are seeing some movement in the manifest, as expected, due to customers being late with their spacecraft or asking to shift later in the year, or sometimes even into 2025,” he said, calling those shifting customer schedules “a game of manifest whac-a-mole.”
He said that the company should far surpass the 10 Electron launches the company performed in 2023, but did not offer a revised estimate. “It’s just super hard to predict as the customers move around,” he said. “But I think it’s fair to say that, at this point, we’ll struggle to achieve 22, but we have line of sight for probably a couple of less than that.”
The company reported $92.8 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2024, a 69% increase over the same quarter of 2023. The company had a net loss of $44.3 million in the quarter, slightly better than the $45.6 million net loss it recorded in the first quarter of 2023.
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FAQs
Rocket Lab stated the Neutron rocket would not launch before mid-2025, despite previously aiming for late 2024. They completed the first Archimedes engine for testing at Stennis Space Center, but development delays pushed back the maiden flight.
How many times has Rocket Lab launched? ›
Electron rockets have launched to orbit 46 times from either Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand or at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia, United States. Rocket Lab has launched one sub-orbital HASTE rocket to date from Wallops Island, Virginia.
What is Rocket Lab trying to achieve? ›
In the pantheon of private space groups, Rocket Lab is a roaring success, and Beck wants to keep it that way. Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab's quest to pioneer affordable access to space was shouldered by its development of Electron, a launch vehicle designed to give small satellites dedicated rides to orbit.
How does a rocket work in space if there is no air to push against? ›
As the exhaust gases go in one direction, the rocket goes in the other to keep the total momentum of the system constant. This momentum change of the gases gives the rocket the "push" to go forward.
What do thrusters push against in space? ›
What about a rocket manoeuvring in the vacuum of space? Indeed, there's nothing to push against, but it's the exact same situation as on the launch pad: to move in one direction, the pilot simply has to activate some jet from a nozzle pointing in the other direction, and voilà!
What country owns Rocket Lab? ›
Electron is a two-stage, partially reusable orbital launch vehicle developed by Rocket Lab, an American aerospace company with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. Electron services the commercial small satellite launch market. As of May 2024, it's the third most launched small-lift launch vehicle in history.
Why is Rocket Lab falling? ›
The shares soared midyear thanks to some strong earnings reports and signs of a growing backlog, but crashed back to Earth in September after the company experienced a launch failure. Rocket Lab temporarily put operations on hold while it investigated what went wrong, eating into near-term revenue.
Will Neutron launch in 2024? ›
The launch and space systems company released its Q1 2024 financials on May 6, along with the update that the first launch of its next-generation Neutron rocket will slip to mid-2025 at the earliest.
Is Rocket Lab losing money? ›
Rocket Lab, a prominent player in the aerospace sector, reported first quarter revenues of $92.77 million, surpassing the analyst estimates of $94.99 million. However, the net loss widened to $44.26 million from $45.61 million year-over-year, with a loss per share of $0.09, slightly better than the estimated $0.11.
How much does the Rocket Lab Neutron cost? ›
Quote from recent Space news article. Spice said the company estimated in 2021 spending $250 million to $300 million on Neutron and having it ready in 2024. “We are remarkably intact on the estimates we put in place at the time,” he said.
Even though you can't swim in outer space, there is a way for you to sail through it. The radiation that the Sun emits carries momentum with it. Even though photons, the fundamental particles of light, don't have mass, they still have energy, and that energy packs a (very, very tiny) punch.
Is it cold in space? ›
Space is very, very cold. The baseline temperature of outer space is 2.7 kelvins — minus 454.81 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 270.45 degrees Celsius — meaning it is barely above absolute zero, the point at which molecular motion stops. But this temperature is not constant throughout the solar system.
How cold is space in C? ›
Outer space has a baseline temperature of 2.7 Kelvin, minus 453.8 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 270.45 degrees Celsius, according to LiveScience.
Do satellites have fuel? ›
A satellite orbiting closer to the Earth requires more velocity to resist the stronger gravitational pull. Satellites do carry their own fuel supply, but unlike how a car uses gas, it is not needed to maintain speed for orbit. It is reserved for changing orbit or avoiding collision with debris.
How do astronauts eat inside a space rocket? ›
During a typical meal in space, a meal tray is used to hold the food containers. The tray can be attached to an astronaut's lap by a strap or attached to a wall. The meal tray becomes the astronaut's dinner plate and enables the astronaut to choose from several foods at once, just like a meal at home.
Is there gravity in space? ›
Some people think that there is no gravity in space. In fact, a small amount of gravity can be found everywhere in space. Gravity is what holds the moon in orbit around Earth. Gravity causes Earth to orbit the sun.
How many times has SpaceX launched rockets? ›
Since June 2010, rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 348 times, with 346 full mission successes, two failures, and one partial success.
How many rockets have been launched in total? ›
About 35,000-40,000, including sounding rockets.
How many launch pads does Rocket Lab have? ›
Our Launch Sites
Choose from three launch pads across Rocket Lab's two launch sites. Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, and Launch Complex 2 on Wallops Island, Virginia.
How many launches has New Shepard launched? ›
New Shepard
| Size |
|---|
| Total launches | 25 |
| Success(es) | 24 |
| Failure(s) | 1 |
| Landings | 23 |
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