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The Neutron rocket’s Stage 1 tank.
Rocket Lab suffered a structural failure of the Neutron rocket’s Stage 1 tank during testing, setting back efforts to get to the inaugural flight for the fully reusable launcher.
The mishap occurred during a hydrostatic pressure trial, the company said Jan. 21. “There was no significant damage to the test structure or facilities,” Rocket Lab added.
Rocket Lab last year pushed the first mission from 2025 to 2026, citing the volume of testing ahead. The U.S.-listed company said it is now analyzing what transpired to determine the impact on Neutron launch plans. Rocket Lab said it would provide an update during its next quarterly financials, due in a few weeks.
“The next Stage 1 tank is already in production, and Neutron’s development campaign continues,” the company said.
Rocket Lab last month said it shipped the18-ft.-dia. fairing, which opens and closes like a clamshell, to Neutron’s launch site at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. The launch was expected in approximately the second quarter of this year.
TD Cowen analyst Gautam Khanna said in a Jan. 21 investor note that the tank issue could delay the planned launch. “If a launch delay results from the tank rupture, a second Neutron launch in [2026] would be unlikely,” he wrote.
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