On June 22, Rocket Lab (RKLB +3.57%) launched its Victus Haze mission just 16 hours and 42 minutes after receiving the U.S. Space Force's Notice to Launch. That beat its previous record by over ten hours and marked its fastest turnaround ever.
Once in orbit, it fully activated the spacecraft in 37 hours and 36 minutes, easily beating the Space Force's 72-hour deadline. SpaceX (SPCX +3.70%), which handled the other half of the Victus Haze mission, doesn't execute any short-notice "scramble" missions like Rocket Lab.
Image source: Getty Images.
The Victus Haze mission is an orbital game of "cat and mouse" to test how quickly the U.S. military responds to spaceborne threats. In May, SpaceX launched True Anomaly's Jackal satellite -- the "mouse" -- into orbit with its Falcon 9 rocket. Rocket Lab waited on standby until the Space Force ordered it to launch its own Pioneer satellite -- the "cat" -- with its Electron rocket. That mission's success suggests Rocket Lab's future is bright, but does it make its stock worth buying after its near-40% pullback over the past month?
NASDAQ: RKLB
Key Data Points
What does Rocket Lab do?
Rocket Lab's Electron rocket carries much smaller payloads than SpaceX's Falcon rockets. It has launched the Electron 88 times to deploy over 260 small satellites, and its customers include NASA, the U.S. Space Force's Space Development Agency (SDA), the Swedish National Space Agency, Capella Space, Kinéis, and BlackSky Technology.
Rocket Lab successfully launched 21 Electron rockets in 2025 and aims to launch around 30 in 2026. It's also trying to launch its first Neutron rocket, which can carry much heavier payloads than the Electron, by the end of this year.
Over the next few years, Rocket Lab plans to expand into an "end-to-end" space company by producing more spacecraft, satellites, and subsystems, launching more "ride-share" services for third-party payloads, and improving its Photon satellite bus platform.
From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect Rocket Lab's revenue to grow at a 39.5% CAGR. They also expect it to turn profitable in the final year.
Why did Rocket Lab's stock decline?
Rocket Lab, like many other space stocks, rallied in the month leading up to SpaceX's IPO. But after the IPO, many of those investors took profits and rotated to SpaceX instead. Some investors believe SpaceX's Starship, its largest rocket ever, could significantly reduce launch prices and hurt smaller rocket makers like Rocket Lab. Inflation and fears of interest rate hikes are also driving investors away from smaller, speculative stocks.
Even after its pullback, Rocket Lab trades at 51 times this year's sales, 36 times its 2027 sales, and 29 times its 2028 sales. It's a little cheaper than SpaceX, which trades at 55 times this year's sales, but it might be too hot to handle right now. Investors can nibble on Rocket Lab at these levels, but they shouldn't be surprised if it gets cut in half in the next market crash.
