Rocket Lab's stock slides as the company pushes back Neutron's first launch
By William Gavin
Neutron, a medium-lift rocket meant to rival SpaceX's Falcon 9, will no longer launch this year
Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck expects the company to reveal a new date for the Neutron rocket's launch by early 2027.
Rocket Lab once again is delaying the maiden launch of its Neutron rocket, dealing a major blow to investors.
The aerospace company on Wednesday said Neutron, which some analysts call a potential rival to SpaceX's (SPCX) Falcon 9 rocket, will launch for the first time in 2027. It's the latest delay for Rocket Lab (RKLB), which had initially planned for Neutron to debut in late 2025.
Neutron is crucial for Rocket Lab to expand its launch business and carry out more missions for both commercial and government customers, as well as itself. Rocket Lab's current launch vehicle, the Electron rocket, is designed to transport small satellites and other payloads, while Neutron can carry heavier payloads to orbit. Rocket Lab has also said Neutron could help solve a looming commercial-launch bottleneck.
Rocket Lab shares fell about 10% in Wednesday's after-hours session following the announcement. The stock dropped around 8% in the day's regular trading.
In a presentation, Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said the launch was delayed due to an issue with the manufacturing process for Neutron's forward dome. While the company has produced what it called its "highest-quality dome" ever made as a replacement, Rocket Lab still needs to finish and test it.
Both of those steps should be completed this year, allowing Rocket Lab to assemble and test its complete stage-one tank in the first quarter of 2027, Beck said. Once that's done, Rocket Lab should be able to announce a new target launch date.
"We're balancing speed to first launch with bringing a reliable high-cadence rocket to market for the long term, which means making deliberate choices about timelines to support the reliability going long into the future," Beck said.
-William Gavin
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10-14-26 2002ET
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