Rocket Lab is on track to launch a National Security Mission for the National Reconnaissance Office

LONG BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rocket Lab USA, Inc’s (Nasdaq: RKLB) Electron launch vehicle is on the launch pad and ready to lift off with a national security mission for the United States government’s National Reconnaissance Office.

Scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1’s Pad A during a July 12 launch window at 05:00 UTC, the NROL-162/”Wise One Looks Ahead” mission will be delivered to space on the Electron rocket from Rocket Lab.

The Launch Operations team completed a clear run through the “Wise One Looks Ahead” launch rehearsal after the NROL-162 satellite was successfully coupled to Electron at Launch Complex 1. The mission will deploy from of the Electron rocket’s Kick phase, the low-Earth upper-stage orbital configuration of the rocket that was recently used to successfully deliver NASA’s CAPSTONE satellite on its mission to the Moon.

“Wise One Looks Ahead” is the first of two reactive space missions for the NRO scheduled to launch just 10 days apart, with NROL-199 (“Antipodean Adventure”) set to launch from from Launch Complex 1 Pad B no earlier than July 22.

The NROL-162 and NROL-199 missions will carry national security payloads designed, built and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office in partnership with the Australian Department of Defense through a wide range of cooperative satellite activities with the ‘Australia. The satellites will help the NRO provide critical information to government agencies and policymakers monitoring international issues, including the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, as well as international drug traffickers and criminal organizations; supporting international peacekeeping and humanitarian relief operations; and assess the impact of natural disasters.

Details of the launch of “Wise One Looks Ahead”:

• The launch window opens: July 12, UTC
• Launch vehicle: Electron
• Customer: National Recognition Office
• Launch site: Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Pad A
• Type of assignments: Dedicated
• Payload: NROL-162

“Antipodean Adventure” launch details:

• The launch window opens: July 22, UTC
• Launch vehicle: Electron
• Customer: National Recognition Office
• Launch site: Rocket Lab 1 Launch Complex, Pad B
• Type of assignments: Dedicated
• Payload: NROL-199

Real-time mission updates can be found on Rocket Lab’s Twitter @rocketlab and Facebook @rocketlabusa, and on its website www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/next-mission

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+ About Rocket Lab

Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success. We provide reliable launch services, satellite manufacturing, spacecraft components and in-orbit management solutions that make getting into space faster, easier and more affordable. Based in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the small Electron orbital launch vehicle and Photon satellite platform and develops the 8-ton Neutron payload-class launch vehicle. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket each year and has delivered 147 satellites into space for private and public sector organizations, enabling security operations national, scientific research and space debris mitigation. , Earth observation, climate monitoring and communications. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a private orbital launch site in New Zealand and a second launch site in Virginia, USA, which is expected to become operational in 2022. To learn more, visit www.rocketlabusa.com.