Rocket Lab USA, Inc. shares rose 4.1% in after-hours trading on Friday after the company announced its largest contract to date—an $816 million agreement with the U.S. Space Development Agency.
The deal appoints Rocket Lab USA, Inc. as a prime contractor to design and manufacture 18 satellites for the Tracking Layer Tranche 3 program, part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. These satellites will feature advanced missile detection and tracking capabilities, including Rocket Lab’s next-generation Phoenix infrared sensor payload and StarLite space protection sensors.
The base value of the contract stands at $806 million, with an additional $10.45 million in optional upgrades. Rocket Lab also highlighted further opportunities beyond the primary award, noting that supplying subsystems to other Tranche 3 contractors could lift the total contract value to nearly $1 billion.
This latest agreement builds on Rocket Lab’s existing $515 million contract to deliver 18 satellites for the Space Development Agency’s Transport Layer-Beta Tranche 2 program. Combined, the two awards bring Rocket Lab’s total SDA-related contract value to more than $1.3 billion.
The satellites will be developed using Rocket Lab’s Lightning platform, which takes advantage of the company’s vertically integrated manufacturing model. By designing and producing all major components in-house, Rocket Lab maintains tighter control over costs, timelines, and production scalability.
According to founder and CEO Peter Beck, the contract highlights how Rocket Lab’s vertically integrated strategy is reshaping the execution of national security space programs, rather than merely offering a traditional competitive advantage.
The award marks a major milestone for Rocket Lab as it continues to position itself as a credible challenger to established aerospace prime contractors in the national security and defense space sector.
