Rocket Lab In Spotlight After Launching Third Mission For Japanese Customer

The company said four more launches for iQPS are scheduled this year, with the remaining two scheduled for 2026.

Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) stock could garner retail attention on Monday after successfully launching its third mission for a Japanese customer, the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space.

The company said that ‘The Sea God Sees’ mission successfully lifted off on the Electron launch vehicle from the Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, on May 17. The mission carried iQPS’ QPS-SAR-10, a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Earth-imaging satellite.

Saturday’s mission was iQPS's third overall launch and the second in a multi-launch contract to launch eight missions for the company in 2025 and 2026.

The company said four more launches are scheduled this year, with the remaining two scheduled for 2026.

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said another mission with iQPS is lined up in “a few short weeks.”

The stock drew retail chatter last week after NASA selected the company for the Aspera mission. NASA said the maximum value of the contract would be $300 million.

The company has also been selected to participate in contracts by the U.S. and the UK to provide hypersonic test launch capability.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ (73/100) territory, while retail chatter was ‘high.’

Rocket Lab topped Wall Street’s expectations for first-quarter revenue, posting a 32% jump compared to a year earlier.

The company had forecasted second-quarter revenue between $130 million and $140 million.

Rocket Lab stock has gained 0.6% year to date (YTD).

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