Rocket Lab has received an $816 million contract for 18 defense system spacecraft, the company’s largest single order.
Rocket Lab will design and build a constellation of advanced missile-warning, tracking and defense systems for the Space Development Agency (SDA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Defense.
The spacecraft are designed to “provide global and persistent detection and tracking of emerging missile threats.”
The so-called “prime contract” is the latest win for Long Beach-based Rocket Lab, which got its start a bit further south in Orange County.
Rocket Lab has been coming on strong as it secures a place in the ever-growing realm of surveillance, defense and communications in outer space.
On March 6, the 20-year-old company announced its fourth launch of the year and 83rd rocket launch overall. Rocket Lab calls itself an “end-to-end space company delivering reliable launch services, spacecraft, satellite components, and on-orbit management.”
$1B Possible With Further Work
In a conference call with stock analysts on Feb. 26, Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said the SDA contract could lead to even more work.
“There are additional subsystem opportunities that could add the total capture value to approximately $1 billion for supplying payloads, solar power, reaction wheels, star trackers, software, and other solutions from our broad portfolio of capabilities, he said.”
Rocket Lab is one of the growing number of companies reviving Southern California’s legendary aerospace sector. They range from JetZero, which is developing a delta-shaped futuristic passenger airliner, to sector-dominant weapons maker Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa.
Rocket Lab, known for its Election Rockets, said last month that fourth-quarter revenue jumped 36% to almost $180 million.
Beck said the company finished 2025 with a company record $602 million in revenue, nearly triple 2022.
The company projects first-quarter revenue of $185 million to $200 million, a midpoint increase of 7% sequentially and 57% over the prior year quarter.
And there is plenty of work ahead.
“We ended the year with a record $1.85 billion in backlog, representing 73% year-on-year growth, a figure we look forward to building upon in 2026,” Beck told analysts.
The company’s stock price in January almost touched $100 each, an all-time high. At press time, it traded at $71.96 and a $41 billion market cap (Nasdaq: RKLB).
European Opportunity, 83 Missions to Date
Beck said he sees a “great opportunity” and “real expansion beachhead” for his company in Europe.
“Once we have a footprint in Europe proper, being eligible for participating in European programs becomes possible,” Beck told analysts. “There are literally billions and billions of dollars of well-funded government programs underway right now.”
Beck also said the company is well-positioned to aim for a role in President Donald Trump’s proposed Golden Dome proposal, a space-based defense system designed to protect the U.S. against incoming hostile missiles.
