Rocket Lab USA, a global company in launch services and space systems, announced it has been selected to be a member of the team, led by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, awarded a five-year OTA contract for the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) 2.0 under Task Area 1. The total potential value of the MACH-TB 2.0 Contract Award over five years is $1.45 billion. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD (R&E)) Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) established MACH-TB to support OUSD’s National Hypersonic Initiative 2.0 by creating an affordable flight test bed to increase hypersonic flight test capacity rapidly. MACH-TB 2.0 will provide an affordable bridge between hypersonic ground and system-level flight tests.

Kratos was awarded the prime role in Task Area 1 Systems Engineering, Integration, and Testing (SEIT), to include integrated subscale, full-scale, and air launch services to address the need to increase hypersonic flight test cadence affordably. Rocket Lab will join the Kratos-led team of subcontractors that will provide systems engineering, assembly, integration, and test (AI&T), mission planning and execution, and launch services.

Rocket Lab has already served the MACH-TB program, delivering multiple successful hypersonic test launches with the Company’s HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) rocket from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 2 in Wallops, Virginia. HASTE is a suborbital variant of Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle, which is the United States’ second most frequently launched orbital rocket annually.

HASTE includes much of the same innovative technology as Electron, including carbon fiber composite structures and 3D printed rocket engines, but has a modified upper Kick Stage tailored for hypersonic technology tests and a larger payload capacity of up to 700 kg / 1,540 lbs. Combined, Rocket Lab’s HASTE and Electron launch vehicles have deployed 200+ payloads from its United States and New Zealand launch sites to date.

Rocket Lab’s Vice President of Global Launch Services, Brian Rogers, says: “We’re thrilled to be part of the Kratos-led team for the next iteration of the MACH-TB program and ready to serve the U.S. Department of Defense with even more high-cadence hypersonic technology with our HASTE launch vehicle. Our demonstrated ability to date to deliver successful HASTE launches that test these new technologies is a testament to our dedication to advancing hypersonic innovation for the nation alongside our government and industry partners.”

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