Rocket Lab, known for its consistent success, saw its stock take a steep dive in premarket trading today. The cause? The company’s 41st Electron rocket launch, which carried the Acadia 2 satellite for Capella Space, ended in failure approximately 2 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff from New Zealand. This marks Rocket Lab’s first launch failure in over two years.
The company is wasting no time in addressing the issue, already collaborating with the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate the root cause, believed to be connected to the rocket’s stages separating. Rocket Lab expressed deep regret to its partner, Capella Space, for the mission loss.
Investors reacted swiftly, causing Rocket Lab’s stock to drop by as much as 26% in premarket trading from its previous close at $5.04. Just the day before, the stock had been up 34% for the year.
Rocket Lab’s 42nd Electron mission, originally scheduled for the third quarter, faces postponement as the company focuses on resolving the launch failure. This setback will also lead to a revised third-quarter revenue forecast. In its second-quarter report, Rocket Lab anticipated around $30 million in launch services revenue, a fraction of its overall forecasted revenue between $73 million and $77 million.
This unexpected failure comes after Rocket Lab had achieved an impressive streak of 19 successful launches in 28 months since its last mission failure in May 2021. The timeline for resolving this issue and getting back on track remains uncertain, as it depends on the complexity of the problem. After its previous launch failure, Rocket Lab took 70 days to launch its next Electron mission.
