Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB), a rival of SpaceX, completed the first successful launch of its “Electron” rocket on Friday, following the one that failed in September. The company’s shares rose more than 1.3% before the market opening.
Electron’s First Successful Launch After September Failure
Shares of Rocket Lab USA popped 1.35% in premarket trading Friday after the company announced it had successfully launched its “Electron” rocket into space from a New Zealand facility.
After completing the typical mission milestones, the rocket initiated a “kick stage” to propel the satellite into its final orbit roughly 9 minutes into the flight. Fifty minutes later, the Electron reached orbit. This marks the first successful launch for Rocket Lab, a rival of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, since September.
That month, Electron’s launch failed roughly two and a half minutes into its flight as it carried a satellite from synthetic-aperture radar firm Capella Space toward orbit. This was the first mission failure for the Long Beach, California-based company in over two years.
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Rocket Lab and SpaceX
The Friday launch was the 10th for Rocket Lab in 2023, significantly below the 90 completed by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, co-founded by Tesla boss Elon Musk. However, Rocket Lab is still the only US provider actively sending rockets into orbit besides the industry leader SpaceX, as other American and global rivals struggle.
Founded by Peter Beck in 2006, the company was relatively unknown in the early period until it made several big moves and gained the wider public’s attention. Rocket Lab has over 40 launches and delivered 171 satellites into orbit today. It has three dedicated launchpads to Electron, the only reusable small rocket in the world.
Furthermore, the company is also building a large rocket called Neutron, which will be equipped to carry larger payloads and even offer transportation services for people into space. It is expected to be completed in 2024.
On the back of its success, Rocket Lab garnered investors’ attention and went public in 2021 via a SPAC merger. This year, the company’s shares surged more than 33% to $5.17 apiece, although they remain significantly below the all-time high of over $20 reached two years ago.
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