Rocket Lab lands two US Space Force program wins

The U.S. Space Force selected Rocket Lab for its Space Data Network Consortium on August 18, awarding $12 million in initial contracts to demonstrate secure optical satellite communications for the Space Data Network Backbone. The same announcement onboarded Rocket Lab to the Space Force's NITE-STAR program, a contract vehicle with a $981 million ceiling covering spacecraft, software, ground systems and mission operations that Firefly Aerospace joined earlier this month.