Rocket Lab USA will launch a group of experimental payloads to very low earth orbit (VLEO) in April 2026 as part of a newly awarded $14.49 million task order from the U.S. Space Force.
The service’s Small Launch and Targets Division awarded the contract to Rocket Lab for the Space Test Program-S30 launch service, an effort within Space Systems Command encompassing research experiments and technology demonstrations to guide future development.
The company’s Electron launch vehicle will carry 200 kg (440 lb.) of test satellites. The primary payload will be DISKSat, a 1-m-dia. (3.3-ft.), disk-shaped satellite bus. SSC says in an announcement that DISKSat is designed to increase on-orbit persistence in VLEO, potentially for imaging, communications monitoring and atmospheric measurements.
The Pentagon’s Space Experiments Review Board selects payloads for STP launches. First created in 1965, STP has executed more than 300 missions, according to the Space Force.
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