Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the
Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems,
today announced it has successfully hot fired its new rocket engine
Archimedes for the first time, reaching a critical technical
milestone toward first launch of the Company’s new medium-lift
rocket, Neutron.
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Rocket Lab's Archimedes engine has
completed a successful hot fire, a key development milestone ahead
of the first Neutron rocket launch in mid-2025. (Photo: Business
Wire)
Rocket Lab’s engineers completed the hot fire test at the
Company’s Engine Test Complex within NASA’s Stennis Space Center in
Hancock County, Mississippi, in August 2024. Archimedes performed
well and ticked off several key test objectives, including reaching
102% power, anchoring the engine’s design ahead of Neutron’s first
flight scheduled for mid-2025 – a schedule that would make Neutron
the fastest a commercially developed medium-class launch vehicle
has been brought to market. With the hot fire complete and full
qualification campaign now underway, the Rocket Lab team is moving
into full production of flight engines.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: “Hot firing
Archimedes is a major development milestone for Neutron and our
team has done it on an accelerated timeline. Taking a new staged
combustion liquid rocket engine from cleansheet design to hot fire
in just a couple of years is industry-leading stuff. We’ve been
consistently impressed with the performance of Archimedes in test,
including with this hot fire, so with this critical milestone
completed, we move into production of flight engines confidently
and begin to close out the qualification test campaign in parallel
to really hone performance for launch next year. From the day we
started designing Archimedes we focused on delivering a flight
engine, rather than an early-stage prototype destined for multiple
reworks and adjustments, so it's gratifying to see this strategy
bear fruit.”
The Archimedes engine will power Rocket Lab’s new reusable
medium-lift rocket Neutron, a next-generation challenger to deliver
a cost-effective, reliable, and responsive launch service for
commercial and government missions. The advanced design of Neutron
includes carbon composite for all of the rocket’s major structures
and an innovative upper stage that enables high-performance for
complex satellite deployments, including the deployment of
satellite mega-constellations.
The Archimedes engine is an oxidizer rich staged combustion
cycle engine that will power the reusable first stage of Neutron
and the new rocket’s second stage that is designed to carry up to
13,000 kilograms of payload to space. Capable of producing up to
165,000 (733 kilonewtons) pounds of thrust per engine, Archimedes
operates at lower stress levels than other rocket engines to enable
rapid and reliable reusability. The combined thrust of nine
Archimedes engines for Neutron’s first stage is designed to reach
1,450,000 lbf total. Archimedes uses a cryogenic propellant mix of
liquid oxygen and LNG to enable higher reusability and performance,
and many of its critical components are 3D printed including
Archimedes’ turbo pump housings, pre-burner and main chamber
components, valve housings, and engine structural components.
Production of the Archimedes engines takes place at Rocket Lab’s
Engine Development Complex in Long Beach, California.
+ About Rocket Lab
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with
an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable
launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and
on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier, and more
affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach,
California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small
orbital launch vehicle, our family of spacecraft platforms, and the
Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for
constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January
2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second
most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 191
satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations,
enabling operations in national security, scientific research,
space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and
communications. Rocket Lab spacecraft have 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 located in New Zealand and a third launch pad in
Virginia. To learn more, visit www.rocketlabusa.com
+ Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by
the safe harbor provisions for forward looking statements contained
in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
“Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements contained in
this press release other than statements of historical fact,
including, without limitation, statements regarding our launch and
space systems operations, launch schedule and window, safe and
repeatable access to space, Neutron development, operational
expansion and business strategy are forward-looking statements. The
words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “potential,”
“continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,”
“could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “target,” and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
though not all forward-looking statements use these words or
expressions. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees,
but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the
factors, risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as such
factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), accessible on
the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section
of our website at www.rocketlabusa.com, which could cause our
actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the
forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such
forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of
the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such
forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim
any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views
to change.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240808926407/en/
+ Rocket Lab Media Contact Morgan Connaughton
media@rocketlabusa.com
Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB)
過去 株価チャート
から 11 2024 まで 12 2024
Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB)
過去 株価チャート
から 12 2023 まで 12 2024
