Spacecraft for tactical response missions to be built for U.S. Space Systems Command
NewsApril 15, 2024
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado. Rocket Lab will design and build a spacecraft capable of rendezvous proximity operations for U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC), the company announced in a statement.
The spacecraft will be part of the VICTUS HAZE mission under the Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) initiative. The VICTUS HAZE mission involves a spacecraft that Rocket Lab will construct and potentially launch on its Electron rocket from either Mahia, NZ or Wallops, VA. The launch is scheduled for 2025 and will include a rapid commissioning of the spacecraft for on-orbit operations, according to the statement.
The mission aims to enhance the capabilities for tactically responsive space operations, improving the processes and timelines for responding to on-orbit threats, the company says. Rocket Lab's role will include a series of dynamic space operations to test space domain awareness and on-orbit characterization in collaboration with True Anomaly’s Jackal autonomous orbital vehicle, the statement adds.
