'Fasten Your Space Belts': Rocket Lab Deploys First Gen-3 Satellite By BlackSky

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. RKLB shares are trading slightly higher premarket on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the company successfully completed its 60th Electron launch, delivering BlackSky’s first Gen-3 Earth-imaging satellite into a 470km orbit.

The ‘Fasten Your Space Belts’ mission took off from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, at 12:17 NZDT on February 19 (23:15 UTC on February 18).

BlackSky CEO, Brian O’Toole, said, “The successful launch of our first Gen-3 satellite represents a major step forward in delivering transformative, next-generation space-based intelligence capabilities to our customers. We look forward to commissioning this new satellite and delivering very high-resolution imagery and AI-enabled analytics at industry leading speeds.”

The deployment utilized Rocket Lab’s Motorized Lightband, a satellite separation system that has been used for all BlackSky Technology Inc. BKSY missions aboard Electron.

Notably, this mission launch came ten days after its previous Electron mission from Launch Complex 1, highlighting the company’s increasing launch frequency.

Recently, Rocket Lab disclosed that it will launch a satellite for BlackSky Technology on a dedicated Electron mission, the first of multiple planned launches under a bulk order with the space-based intelligence company.

The new launch marks the ninth Electron launch for BlackSky since 2019, solidifying Rocket Lab as the leading launch provider for BlackSky’s satellite constellation.

Looking ahead, the company aims to carry out additional dedicated Electron launches to expand BlackSky’s constellation, conduct missions from Launch Complex 2 in Virginia, and introduce its new medium-lift reusable rocket, Neutron.

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF ARKX and Procure Space ETF UFO.

Price Action: RKLB shares are up 0.94% at $28.00 premarket at the last check Wednesday.

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