Rocket Lab USA
The other launch company that actually flies. Electron has hit a launch every 12 days this year, Neutron is on track for a first flight in Q4, and the Space Systems business (satellite buses, components, ground) is now growing faster than launch. That last part is the reason RKLB has doubled from its 2024 lows.
Rocket Lab is running two plays in parallel. Electron holds the small-launch category outright (they launch every two weeks; nobody else in the West is close). Neutron, the medium-lift reusable, is the bet that opens up Air Force NSSL-class missions and puts them in direct competition with Falcon 9.
The other half of the story is Space Systems: buses, solar panels, reaction wheels, separation systems. Half of everything else in orbit has a Rocket Lab component on it. That segment is at roughly 65% of revenue and growing double digits sequentially.
Watch: Neutron first-flight window, DoD/NSSL contract pipeline, and gross margin trajectory in the Space Systems segment.