Rocket Lab Stock Soars To Record High On First-Ever ESA Contract To Launch Low-Earth Navigation Satellites

As a part of the mission, Rocket Lab has been roped in to deploy the first pair of satellites to test the ESA’s proposed future low Earth orbit positioning, navigation, and timing constellation.

Shares of Rocket Lab (RKLB) surged as much as 14% to an all-time high of $37.27 on Thursday after the company secured its first-ever launch contract with the European Space Agency. 

As a part of the mission, Rocket Lab has been roped in to deploy the first pair of satellites to test a proposed future low Earth orbit positioning, navigation, and timing (LEO-PNT) constellation.

Rocket Lab’s stock pared some of those gains by midday trade to around $35.90, but is still up 10% for the day. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the company surged further into ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours amid ‘high’ levels of chatter.

Under the agreement, Rocket Lab will deploy two “Pathfinder A” satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) program, a demonstration mission aimed at testing new methods of delivering satellite-based navigation and timing services from low orbit.

The satellites – first of a 10-satellite constellation – built by Europe’s Thales Alenia Space and GMV– will be launched aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron vehicle to an altitude of 510 kilometers. 

The mission will evaluate whether a low-Earth constellation can supplement or enhance existing services from Europe’s Galileo and EGNOS systems, which operate in higher orbits and form the backbone of Europe’s independent global navigation capability.

ESA said it chose Rocket Lab because of the urgency of getting the satellites into orbit to put their spectrum allocation from the International Telecommunication Union into use.

Rocket Lab stock has rallied sharply in recent months, climbing over 40% year to date and more than 664% in the past 12 months. Of the 14 analysts covering the company, 10 give it a ‘Buy’ or ‘Strong Buy’ rating while four recommend ‘Hold’.

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