Rocket Lab just pulled off a military mission in record time, demonstrating the company’s capability to launch spacecraft on demand against potential threats and other problems that may arise in orbit. The Victus Haze spacecraft lifted off on board an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s launch site in Mahia, New Zealand, on June 19. Rocket Lab launched the mission in just 16 hours and 42 minutes after receiving a notice to launch from the U.S. Space Force, beating the previous record by over 10 hours, according to the company. Notice to launch Victus Haze was developed under the Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Space program, designed to demonstrate that commercial providers can rapidly launch and operate spacecraft for the military in response to urgent threats. “VICTUS HAZE set out to demonstrate our ability to respond to irresponsible behavior on orbit under operationally realistic conditions, and we are doing just that, leveraging commercial partnerships to maximize flexibility and minimize cost,” Bryon McClain, acting Space Force portfolio acquisition executive (PAE) for Space Combat Power, said in a statement.
For the recent demonstration, the Space Force gave Rocket Lab a 24-hour notice to launch. In response, the company’s guidance, navigation, and control team took approximately four hours to calculate final trajectories, update flight software, and coordinate global ground stations in preparation for launch.
