The cost of launch is on the rise. Citing strong customer demand and a constrained market for launch, Rocket Lab ($RKLB) announced it increased the cost of a dedicated Neutron rocket from $55M to $70M.
“Neutron is rapidly establishing itself as the backbone of next-generation constellation deployment and government missions in the medium-lift launch class,” CEO Peter Beck said in a statement. “Strong international demand and a growing launch manifest, at a new price point, is proof that Neutron is the launch vehicle the market has been waiting for.”
Brain blast: In recent months, the coming shortage of launch capacity in the US—due, mainly, to SpaceX sunsetting its Transporter rideshare program—has caused a flurry of activity.
Launch integrators have signed major deals to purchase dedicated rockets of their own, and some satellite operators—including Cowboy Space and AST SpaceMobile—are now working to build their own launch vehicles.
For Rocket Lab, the tight launch market has been helpful to the bottom line. During its Q3 2026 earnings release yesterday, Rocket Lab revealed a series of record-breaking stats, including:
- Record quarterly revenue of $268M;
- Record backlog of $3.6B—consisting of 117 launches and 55+ spacecraft;
- And $470M in space-systems contracts signed across the quarter, up 512% YoY.
Cost of doing business: The price hike for Neutron isn’t keeping customers away. Neutron’s first launch has been delayed to 2027, but Rocket Lab announced it booked eight new missions in Q3, securing $515M+ in contracts and doubling Neutron’s backlog. Customers’ next options to fly on Neutron are now in the 2030s and beyond.
- ICEYE has purchased three dedicated Neutron launches, beginning in late 2028.
- Muon Space signed a contract for two launches—one in 2029, and another in 2030.
- Starcloud secured a single Neutron launch in 2029.
- Rocket Lab also has missions on the schedule for Kepler Communications and the Space Force.
Rocket Lab is also expecting to raise prices of Electron and HASTE missions, according to CFO Adam Spice.
Departure time: On previous earnings calls, Beck has tied the Neutron launcher’s operations to the company’s underlying profitability, and it appears that those two milestones are still linked. Rocket Lab projected Q4 revenue to come in between $270M and $290M, with an expected loss between $14M and $20M.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, FL—Twenty-eight astronauts—including two Apollo veterans—and one very large Saturn V shared a room at Kennedy Space Center on Friday night for the Artemis Celebration Gala, held the evening before NASA’s MAX POWER event.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described the astronauts as “a living connection between those who first taught humanity how to reach another world and those who will learn how to stay there.”
Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke and Apollo 9 lunar module pilot Rusty Schweickart were the evening’s guests of honor. Organizers also honored Apollo-era engineers in attendance, including JoAnn Morgan, Poppy Northcutt, and Jay Honeycutt.
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