Rocket Lab Corporation, a global leader in launch services and space systems, announced it has successfully launched its Electron rocket and deployed its own Pioneer spacecraft for the U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command’s (SSC) VICTUS HAZE Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission led by the SSC’s Space Safari Program Office in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).

Lifting off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 10:19 pm NZT on June 19th, the mission shattered the previous TacRS record set by VICTUS NOX by more than 10 hours. The feat establishes a new global benchmark for rapid call-up space capabilities. Beyond this historic launch turnaround, VICTUS HAZE marks the first time a single prime contractor has provided an entire all-in-one mission as a complete package for a TacRS mission. Rocket Lab vertically engineered, built, and tested the highly manoeuvrable Pioneer spacecraft, executed the rapid launch, and is now managing on-orbit operations for VICTUS HAZE. 

Rocket Lab’s Pioneer spacecraft is now conducting Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) in low Earth orbit, simulating a rapid threat-response scenario alongside a non-compliant satellite. With space an increasingly contested domain, the ability to rapidly launch a spacecraft, pursue an object in space, photograph it, and monitor its behavior in real time, gives the U.S. and its allies the Space Domain Awareness capability and the vital intelligence it needs to maintain U.S. superiority in space.

Key VICTUS HAZE Mission Achievements:

• 16 Hours, 42 Minutes (Notice-to-Launch): The length of time between Rocket Lab receiving the Notice To Launch from the SSC’s Space Safari Program Office and Electron’s launch from Launch Complex 1.
• 4 Hours (Trajectory Calculation): Rocket Lab’s Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) team took just ~4 hours to calculate final trajectories, update flight software, and coordinate global ground stations in preparation for launch.
• 37 Hours, 36 Minutes (Spacecraft Commissioning): Rocket Lab fully activated and readied the Pioneer spacecraft for its first orbital maneuver, beating VICTUS HAZE’s strict 72-hour deadline by more than 34 hours.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: "Our launch-plus-spacecraft integrated mission capability is transformative for responsive space. By launching on demand with spacecraft at-the-ready we've shown we can secure and defend the nation's space interests rapidly, and that’s a powerful capability for the United States and its allies. This is what modern space power looks like: the ability to reinforce and reimagine national security space architecture at will, and we’re proud to be providing the nation with those next-generation space capabilities, today.”

“We are excited to demonstrate advanced TacRS capabilities on orbit,” said USSF Lt. Col. Lincoln Miller, Space Safari system program manager. “VICTUS HAZE culminates the TacRS ‘crawl, walk, run’ phase of on-orbit demonstrations. We are confident in the technology and space operations expertise of our teams who have paved the way for rapid capability delivery to orbit in support of urgent operational needs. Rendezvous and Proximity Operations on such short timelines are certainly not trivial, especially in a crisis or conflict scenario, but this demonstration of our ability to commission a complex and capable space vehicle within less than 72 hours, and immediately begin an RPO scenario thereafter, shows that we can field capability to deny adversaries first-mover advantage into novel orbits.”

The successful launch of VICTUS HAZE builds on Rocket Lab’s extensive history of delivering responsive space missions, including a previous launch record in 2024 when Rocket Lab launched two Electron missions from two different hemispheres in less than 24 hours. This rapid and reliable launch cadence is unmatched by any other small launch provider globally. 

Rocket Lab’s ability to rapidly compress what is typically a multi-year defense acquisition timeline was made possible through the company’s extensive vertical integration. The Pioneer spacecraft incorporates Rocket Lab’s own in-house manufactured subsystems, including propulsion, solar arrays, reaction wheels, radio, star trackers, structures, propellant tanks and flight software. This internal supply chain eliminates third-party delays, ensuring seamless compatibility and unmatched operational speed for the Department of War and its allies.

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