What's Going On With Rocket Lab Stock Tuesday?

Rocket Lab USA Inc RKLB provided a progress update on its four-vehicle contract with Varda Space Industries.

What Happened: Rocket Lab on Tuesday said it successfully delivered its second Pioneer spacecraft to Vandenberg Space Force Base and completed production and testing of a third spacecraft for Varda.

The two spacecraft are part of a four-vehicle contract between Rocket Lab and Varda aimed at revolutionizing commercial manufacturing in space. Varda is an orbital pharmaceutical processing and hypersonic Earth re-entry logistics company.

Rocket Lab’s Pioneer platform will host Varda’s reentry capsule, which leverages microgravity conditions to conduct operations in space. Rocket Lab’s Pioneer spacecraft will provide essential systems for power, communications and propulsion for Varda’s reentry capsule. 

“We’re setting a new standard for rapid, reliable satellite production. Each Pioneer spacecraft for Varda’s missions is a perfect demonstration of our growing capability as an end-to-end space company that delivers design, manufacturing, integration, testing, launch support and in-space operations to get our customers’ innovative ideas on orbit quickly and cost effectively,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO.

Varda’s second mission is scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2025. As with the first launch, Rocket Lab and Varda will once again conduct in-space operations and reentry positioning maneuvers, but this time the companies will focus on deorbiting the spacecraft over Australia and landing the capsule at a test range.

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Rocket Lab shares are up more than 26% over the past month. The company reported better-than-expected financial results in mid-November and announced a multi-launch agreement with a confidential customer.

Rocket Lab guided for fourth-quarter revenue in the range of $125 million to $135 million and noted that it expects to finish out the year strong with Electron launches on track as planned.

Rocket Lab is not due to report earnings again until February. Analysts currently expect the company to report a loss of 10 cents per share and revenue of $130.33 million, according to Benzinga Pro.

RKLB Price Action: Rocket Lab shares were up 0.14% at $25.93 at the time of publication Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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Photo: courtesy of Rocket Lab.