Oct 14 (Reuters) – Rocket Lab on Wednesday said the inaugural launch of its new, larger Neutron rocket was delayed until next year, sending the space firm’s shares down about 6% in extended trading.
Here are more details:
• Rocket Lab had previously targeted Neutron’s inaugural flight for the fourth quarter of 2026
• In August, however, the company appeared to push back on the timeline for Neutron’s first flight and said it aimed to get the vehicle to the launch pad in the fourth quarter rather than launching it then
• Neutron is a reusable medium-lift rocket central to Rocket Lab’s effort to compete for larger commercial satellite, civil-space and US national-security missions
• Last month, the company signed a multi-year launch agreement for 20 new missions for its Electron launch vehicle with Tokyo-based Earth observation co Synspective
(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)
