Why Rocket Lab Stock Is Moving Higher After Hours

Rocket Lab USA Inc RKLB shares are taking off in Monday's after-hours session after the company announced it signed a launch deal with NASA.

What Happened: Rocket Lab inked a double-launch deal with NASA to launch the climate change research-focused mission, PREFIRE, to low Earth orbit in 2024. The PREFIRE mission will focus on studying naturally occurring radiation in the Arctic to better understand its impact on melting glaciers, sea ice, clouds, water and climate modeling and forecasting.

"Missions like these are core to the whole reason why Rocket Lab was founded in the first place — to open up access to space to improve life on Earth — and climate change is a hugely urgent cause for us all," said Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab.

"It's a privilege to be able to support this important mission and an honor to be a continued trusted launch provider for small satellite missions with big impact."

Rocket Lab is set to deploy small satellites in the two dedicated missions, representing the seventh and eighth missions Rocket Lab has launched for NASA since 2018.

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RKLB Price Action: Rocket Lab shares were up 2.85% after hours at $6.69 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Courtesy of Rocket Lab