RKLBRocket Lab’s latest mission: defense dollars
Rocket Lab said it was awarded a $90 million contract by the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command to design, manufacture, integrate, and operate two geostationary satellites carrying the Heimdall space domain awareness payload. Translation: this isn’t just a cool-sounding space headline — it’s a real government job with real budget attached.
Why investors should care
Defense work can be the difference between a company that’s all sizzle and one that actually has recurring revenue-ish muscle. For Rocket Lab, landing another Space Force project helps show it’s becoming more than a rocket-launch cameo act. The more it can stack mission-critical contracts, the more it can look like a legit space systems platform instead of a one-trick launch pony.
The bigger picture
This also fits the broader theme around Rocket Lab: the company keeps pushing farther into national security and satellite infrastructure, where customers are sticky and the contracts can be chunky. In a sector where everyone loves to talk about Mars, the boring stuff — defense budgets, spacecraft builds, payload integration — is often where the money lives.
Big picture: Rocket Lab is trying to turn space from a headline business into an actual business. And this deal says the market is still willing to pay for the ride.