Active
Electron
Small-lift, two-stage orbital launch vehicle for dedicated and rideshare small-satellite missions.
Rocket LabPhoton
Active
Versatile satellite bus and spacecraft platform for missions to the Moon and beyond.
Latest update Jul 17, 2026
01
Current status
Active as Rocket Lab's integrated launch-plus-spacecraft solution for civil, defense, and commercial missions, including NASA's CAPSTONE lunar pathfinder mission.
02
Specifications4
03
Upcoming milestones1
Announced next steps from Rocket Lab that mention Photon.
2027
Demonstrate Space Data Network interoperability via Photon
Execute a live space demonstration under the $12M Space Force Space Data Network Consortium delivery orders awarded August 18, 2026: prove that Rocket Lab satellites can move data across systems built by rival vendors (Amazon Leo for Government, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, York Space Systems) via secure optical inter-satellite links, and develop 'Space Exchange Point' satellites acting as orbital routers between commercial and government networks, using Rocket Lab's Photon spacecraft. As of September 11, 2026 neither Space Force nor Rocket Lab has published demo results or a later award, so the original 2027 live-demo window still stands.
04
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05
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