What's Going On With Rocket Lab Stock Today?

Rocket Lab USA Inc RKLB shares popped after the close on Monday before pulling back. The company announced it signed a new 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.

Rocket Lab is part of a growing space exploration sector which includes companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. The company offers launch services, satellite manufacturing, spacecraft components and on-orbit management solutions.

See Also: Soviet-Era Space Race Rekindled? Russia Aims To Reach Moon With Luna-25 Before US, India Missions

RKLB Price Action: Rocket Lab shares were up about 3% after hours before pulling back. The stock was down 0.32% at $6.29 Tuesday morning, according to Benzinga Pro.