Mission Success: Rocket Lab Launches 2nd Hypersonic Test Mission in Three Months for Defense Innovation Unit
Rocket Lab's HASTE rocket achieved 100% success in deploying DART AE, advancing reusable hypersonic technology for the US Department of War and its allies.
- On Feb. 27, 2026, Rocket Lab Corporation launched HASTE rocket 'That's Not A Knife' from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2, marking its second DIU hypersonic test in three months and seventh overall.
- HASTE, an acronym for hypersonic accelerator suborbital test electron, functions as a suborbital testbed and has rapidly become a commercial hypersonic test platform in under two years.
- The mission deployed DART AE, a scramjet-powered aircraft by Hypersonix, into a suborbital hypersonic flight environment at several times the speed of sound, with Matt Hill calling it a major milestone.
- Rocket Lab reports 100% mission success across all HASTE launches, supporting hypersonic testing and national security, as the company celebrates its third launch of the year.
- Rocket Lab's wider portfolio shows more than 1,700 missions backing test services, while Hypersonix said the flight moves it closer to reusable hypersonic capabilities for allies.
21 Articles
21 Articles
The Toronto Star
Mission Success: Rocket Lab Launches 2nd Hypersonic Test Mission in Three Months for Defense Innovation Unit
LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today successfully launched its latest hypersonic test mission on its HASTE rocket…
Mission Success: Rocket Lab Launches 2nd Hypersonic Test Mission in Three Months for Defense Innovation Unit - Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB)
LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) ("Rocket Lab" or "the Company"), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today successfully launched its latest
Rocket Lab’s HASTE completes second successful hypersonic test mission for Defense Innovation UnitI in three months
The mission, named “That’s Not A Knife,” lifted off on February 27 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern (February 28, 00:00 UTC) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 at the Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia. It marked the second successful hypersonic test launch for the DIU in three months and the seventh HASTE mission overall. During the flight, the rocket deployed DART AE, a scramjet-powered aircraft develo…
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