The award marks Rocket Lab’s first satellite production program for geostationary orbit. It also extends the company’s vertically integrated mission model into a new orbital regime.
Rocket Lab will serve as the prime contractor and end-to-end mission provider for the program. Its responsibilities include spacecraft design and manufacture, integration of the Heimdall optical payload, launch integration and on-orbit operations.
The Heimdall payload will be produced in-house by Rocket Lab Optical Systems. Rocket Lab will integrate the satellites onto a government-furnished launch vehicle and operate them for up to five years after commissioning.
The two satellites will be based on Rocket Lab’s Lightning bus. The bus will be adapted for the thermal, radiation, propulsion and station-keeping requirements of geostationary orbit.
Lightning is already in production for several national security programs, including the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Beta and Tranche 3 Tracking Layer. It is also being used for commercial constellations.
Rocket Lab said the geostationary configuration extends Lightning’s production heritage while retaining manufacturing efficiencies and supply chain advantages. The company said those advantages come from its vertically integrated approach.
The contract builds on a Space Systems Command program that began with prototype development of two Heimdall space-based payloads. Those prototypes were originally awarded to GEOST, which Rocket Lab acquired in 2025 and integrated as Rocket Lab Optical Systems.
The prototype phase developed two Heimdall payloads as small, low-cost electro-optical sensors. They were designed to be hosted on satellites in geosynchronous orbit to support the Space Force’s ability to maintain custody of objects in the GEO belt.
The new $90 million award moves the program from payload prototyping to operational space vehicle delivery. It expands Rocket Lab’s role from payload work to complete satellite production and mission operations.
Rocket Lab will conduct spacecraft assembly, integration and testing at its Spacecraft Production Complex in Long Beach, California. Payload delivery will come from Rocket Lab Optical Systems, while mission operations will be conducted from Rocket Lab facilities after launch.
