Space company Rocket Lab is set to open a new launch site in the US state of Alaska after winning a record contract with the US military.The New Zealand-founded, Nasdaq-listed company has been awarded a US$266 million (NZ$460m) multi-launch contract with the US Space Force to support its missile defence programmes.Under the contract, Rocket Lab would execute 12 suborbital launches, with up to six additional launches. The first launch was expected no earlier than the end of 2026.Rocket Lab said the launches would largely happen from a new Rocket Lab base at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, in Kodiak, Alaska.The launch base would complement the company's existing sites in New Zealand and Virginia."Cadence, iteration, and relentless execution are essential to maturing America's missile defence capabilities, and that's exactly what we bring with launch leadership," Rocket Lab chief executive Sir Peter Beck said in a statement."The size and scale of this contract reflects the Space Force's confidence in our ability to meet their urgent national security demands with speed, responsiveness, and scale, and we're proud to provide the high-frequency launch capacity required to keep the US ahead of global threats."Rocket Lab's share price climbed 4.7 percent after the news.The contract is part of a growing pipeline of US defence and military work for Rocket Lab.Earlier this year, the company won a US$190m contract with the US Department of War, formally the Department of Defence.