Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has been selected by the U.S. Space Force to compete in the Department of Defense’s National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 program.
The announcement was part of a broader $5.6 billion firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract awarded to Rocket Lab and Stoke Space Technologies Inc. to support national security missions through 2029.
According to the Department of Defense, the contract provides launch services for delivering high-priority payloads into orbit. The award includes a five-year ordering period running through June 2029, with an option for a five-year extension. Space Systems Command at Los Angeles Air Force Base is the contracting authority, and initial task orders totaling $10 million have been obligated under the Fiscal Year 2025 space procurement budget.
Rocket Lab’s Neutron launch vehicle will support the NSSL missions. The 13-ton, reusable medium-lift vehicle is designed to meet the increasing demand for single and multi-satellite constellation deployment. Neutron is being developed with carbon composite structures and powered by the company’s Archimedes engines. It is scheduled for its first launch in the second half of 2025 from Launch Complex 3 at Wallops Island, Virginia—making it the first vehicle supporting the NSSL program to launch from the Mid-Atlantic region.
As noted by the company, Rocket Lab has conducted 63 Electron launches to date and remains one of only two U.S. launch providers to have delivered multiple payloads to orbit in 2025. Its selection for the NSSL Phase 3 program allows Rocket Lab to compete for task orders once Neutron completes its first successful launch.
In a statement, Rocket Lab CEO Sir Peter Beck said: “Supporting assured access to space for the nation’s most important missions has always been the goal with our Neutron rocket, and we’re incredibly proud to be selected by the U.S. Space Force to demonstrate this commitment for the NSSL.”
Rocket Lab will receive an initial $5 million task order to conduct a mission assurance capability assessment in preparation for future contract task awards.
The NSSL program is expected to award a minimum of 30 missions through 2029, with additional extensions possible through 2034.