Selected in April 2024 for the $32 million contract, Rocket Lab is collaborating with Space Safari and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to develop and operate a spacecraft with rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) capabilities. The mission will be executed using Rocket Lab's vertically integrated Pioneer spacecraft, which will be launched aboard an Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.
VICTUS HAZE is designed to showcase responsive space capabilities, demonstrating the ability to achieve launch readiness within 24 hours, track and approach target objects, and assess on-orbit threats. Rocket Lab's comprehensive approach integrates spacecraft manufacturing, launch execution, and mission operations to provide rapid-response solutions for national security.
The completion of CDR confirms that the spacecraft's design, assembly, integration, testing, and operational strategies align with the mission's stringent requirements and constraints.
"The ability to build a spacecraft, launch it, and operate it all in-house, on a tactically responsive timeline, is incredibly rare, but with our extensive launch heritage and deep vertical integration across space systems, we're ideally suited to make this mission a success," said Brad Clevenger, President and CEO of Rocket Lab National Security. "VICTUS HAZE solidifies Rocket Lab as a trusted and highly capable, end-to-end space company that can enable complex missions to serve the needs of the nation."
With the successful CDR, the program now moves into the production phase, which will focus on spacecraft and launch vehicle integration, as well as preparing ground systems in anticipation of launch later this year.
Related Links
Rocket Lab
Military Space News at SpaceWar.com
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