Rocket Lab Signs Deal with Leidos to Launch Four HASTE Missions

September 12, 2023

Rocket Lab USA, Inc.  has signed a contract with Leidos to launch four HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) missions.

“Our first HASTE mission in June this year successfully demonstrated HASTE’s ability to accelerate the cadence of hypersonic flight testing for the nation. We’re proud to now follow it up with a series of four additional missions for Leidos to support hypersonic technology innovation and technology maturation”

The missions, scheduled across 2024 and 2025, will lift off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 at Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. Rocket Lab was selected by Leidos to provide hypersonic test launch capabilities with HASTE under the MACH-TB project. The project was awarded by Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane through the Strategic and Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S2MARTS) Other Transaction Authority (OTA) vehicle on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center (TRMC).

“Our first HASTE mission in June this year successfully demonstrated HASTE’s ability to accelerate the cadence of hypersonic flight testing for the nation. We’re proud to now follow it up with a series of four additional missions for Leidos to support hypersonic technology innovation and technology maturation,” said Brian Rogers, Senior Director – Global Launch Services.

Rocket Lab’s HASTE suborbital launch vehicle is derived from the Company’s Electron rocket but has been modified to support hypersonic payload deployment. By leveraging the heritage of Rocket Lab’s low-cost Electron – the world’s most frequently launched commercial small launch vehicle – HASTE offers true commercial testing capability at a fraction of the cost of current full-scale tests.