Shares of Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) are trading higher this week. The company’s stock had gained 17.3% as of 11:20 p.m. ET on Friday and was up as much as 21.4% earlier in the week. The rise comes as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite had one of the most volatile weeks in market history.
The launch service provider announced a new family of customizable satellite solar arrays at a major industry conference this week, boosting investor optimism.
Rocket Lab announced its new Standardized Array (STARRAY) product line at the 40th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. The company described STARRAY as a family of customizable, next-generation solar arrays designed to meet the power needs of satellites of all types.
STARRAY solar arrays can be customized to fit each system, capable of providing a satellite with 100 watts of power to more than 2,000 watts. Brad Clevenger, vice president of space systems at Rocket Lab, spoke to the importance of this customization and emphasized Rocket Lab’s efficiency, saying, “Our objective is to offer the industry mission-specific customization with short lead times and lower costs.”
The STARRAY line is another step in Rocket Lab’s push to diversify its product offerings beyond its core launch capabilities, which tend to be much more expensive and offer tighter margins.
Rocket Lab was recently awarded a contract as part of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, with a ceiling of $5.6 billion. This could prove to be a key development for Rocket Lab, positioning it as a potential leader in national security missions. Still, Rocket Lab has a long way to go. The NSSL contract is contingent on Rocket Lab building a larger launch system — its current one, though highly successful, is too small to compete for contracts like those from the NSSL program.
The company is currently operating at a loss, though this isn’t unusual for a company developing advanced technologies — at least for a time. If it can successfully build the larger launch system, it can compete with the likes of SpaceX, winning contracts that would see its top line increase substantially and move closer to positive earnings.
The company plans to have a system capable of this by 2026, but these timelines are certainly never guaranteed. Given the uncertainty involved, Rocket Lab is for investors with a particularly high risk tolerance and a well diversified portfolio.
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