“We continued our small launch industry-leading cadence of a successful mission every month in Q3, and following another successful launch early in Q4 we have now conducted nine orbital missions in 2022, beating our previous annual launch record.
“The development of our large Neutron rocket was accelerated this quarter with the selection of the NASA Stennis Space Center as the site for Archimedes engine testing and development, eliminating the need to build a site from scratch and speeding up our development time to first launch.
“Neutron hardware was also produced for the first time this quarter, including full-scale prototypes of the rocket's Archimedes engine and seven-metre diameter tank section.
“Our space systems business growth is continuing, highlighted by our single largest satellite separation systems order in company history totalling $US14 million ($NZ23.27m).
“Since July 1, our space solar power business has also executed more than 50 contracts or modifications to existing contracts, and early in the fourth quarter we've booked more than $US13 million ($NZ21.6m) in new business, with the majority of those bookings generated by space systems.”
Communications director Morgan Bailey said while space systems presented the “larger addressable market opportunity for Rocket Lab versus launch”, launches from Launch Complex 1 Mahia and a new Launch Complex 2, ready for operations soon in the US, would remain an important part of the business.
“This was outlined when Rocket Lab initially announced plans in March 2021 to trade publicly, and reiterated again in our recent Investor Day presentation in September.
“This aligns with Rocket Lab's publicly stated strategy to become an end-to-end space company, not just a launch provider.
“Launch Complex 1 will remain our higher volume launch site for the foreseeable future.”
Fourth quarter revenue is expected to range between $NZ84.8m and $89.75m.
