Rocket Lab scores $190 million launch deal to test hypersonic tech for US military

Rocket Lab has signed its biggest launch contract to date, raking in $190 million from the U.S. Department of Defense.

The deal is for a total of 20 flights of Rocket Lab's HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) launch vehicle, a suborbital variant of the company's Electron rocket. The contract secures HASTE as the primary test vehicle for a joint program between the DoD and Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division.