Rocket Lab Neutron rocket risks slipping to 2027 as 2026 launch window narrows, Bloomberg reports
Rocket Lab $RKLB signaled its Neutron rocket may slip past 2026. It still plans to deliver the vehicle to the launchpad in Q4, but says actual launch timing depends on first-stage qualification tests still ahead. Shares fell. Kalshi puts 2026 launch odds at 14 percent, per Bloomb
Rocket Lab $RKLB has signaled a fresh risk to the 2026 debut of its Neutron rocket, the partially reusable, medium-lift vehicle built to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9. The company still plans to deliver Neutron to its launchpad at Wallops Island, Virginia in the fourth quarter, matching its earlier schedule, but stopped short of promising the rocket will actually fly this year. Actual launch timing, the company said, depends on the outcome of first-stage qualification testing and other critical tests still ahead in 2026. That marks a shift from last quarter, when Rocket Lab management said the rocket remained on track for its first flight this year. Neutron has already been delayed multiple times, including after a rupture during a hydrostatic pressure test of the first-stage fuel tank in January. Rocket Lab shares fell on the latest update. Prediction market Kalshi now gives just a 14 percent probability that Neutron launches before 2027, a steep discount from the confidence management projected months ago. The stakes go beyond Rocket Lab's stock price: satellite operators and government customers who booked Neutron launches are watching a manifest that keeps sliding, at a time when demand for medium-lift capacity outside SpaceX remains high. Source: Bloomberg, Spaceflight Now.