Rocket Lab USA, Inc. announced it has been awarded a $14.49 million task order by the U.S. Space Force (USSF) to launch an Electron mission from Launch Complex 2. The mission, called Space Test Program-30 (STP-S30) falls under the Space Systems Command (SSC) Assured Access to Space organization and is part of Orbital Services Program-4 (OSP-4). The dedicated Electron launch is scheduled to take place within 24 months from contract award and will lift off from Launch Complex 2, a dedicated pad for the Electron rocket at Virginia Spaceport Authority's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. STP-S30 is a complex mission that will deliver research experiments and technology demonstrations to orbit for the DoD and contribute to future space systems development.

The projected primary payload, DISKSat, will demonstrate sustained very low earth orbit (VLEO) flight and test a unique, 1-meter diameter, disk-shaped satellite bus that is designed to increase on-orbit persistence. Rocket Lab has a long track record of delivering mission success for the USSF on Electron, including the successful launch of an Air Force Research Laboratory-sponsored demonstration satellite called Monolith in 2021, and the successful launch of the STP-27RD mission research and development satellites for the DoD in 2019. Rocket Lab is also working closely with the USSF for the development of the Company's new medium-lift vehicle Neutron through a $24.35 million contract with SSC to support development of Neutron's upper stage.