Rocket Lab adds Neutron launch services to NASA’s VADR programme

Rocket Lab has announced a mutual agreement with NASA to include its new medium-lift reusable rocket, Neutron, in the agency’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contract. This expansion builds on Rocket Lab’s established relationship with NASA, which already utilises its Electron rocket for VADR missions.

Neutron, capable of deploying payloads up to 13,000 kg to low Earth orbit, broadens Rocket Lab’s ability to support a range of missions, including CubeSats, Class D missions, constellation deployments, national security objectives and science and exploration payloads. The rocket is a key component of Rocket Lab’s vision to operate as a comprehensive space company, enabling the building, launching and operating of its own constellations while delivering space-based services.

Rocket Lab has previously demonstrated its reliability under the VADR programme with rapid back-to-back Electron launches, including the PREFIRE missions and TROPICS missions in 2023. Adding Neutron to the programme provides NASA and other customers with a reliable and flexible launch solution for medium-lift requirements.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, said: “Neutron brings choice and value to the launch industry and is the ideal rocket to support NASA’s goals with VADR to provide new opportunities for science and technology payloads through commercial best practice. Rocket Lab has been a long trusted and reliable launch partner for NASA missions with Electron, and we’re proud to have been selected to expand on this with Neutron.”

Neutron’s inclusion in the VADR contract complements its selection for other government programmes, such as the US Space Force’s OSP-4 programme, a $986m IDIQ contract, and its potential role in the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Lane 1 programme, valued at $5.6bn over five years.

Significant progress is underway on Neutron’s launch site at Wallops Island, Virginia, with completion expected in the coming months. Testing of the rocket’s Archimedes engine and full-scale components is advancing at Rocket Lab’s facilities across the US Neutron’s debut launch is scheduled for mid-2025 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 3 in Virginia.