Rocket Lab Wins $90M USSF Contract for Space Domain Awareness Satellites

Rocket Lab Wins $90M U.S. Space Force Contract for GEO Space Domain Awareness Satellites

Rocket Lab has secured a $90 million contract from the United States Space Force to develop and operate two geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites carrying Heimdall space domain awareness payloads.

The award marks Rocket Lab’s first satellite production program focused on GEO missions and expands the company’s vertically integrated space systems strategy into higher orbits.

Rocket Lab will serve as the prime contractor for the mission, handling spacecraft manufacturing, payload integration, launch integration, and on-orbit operations for up to five years.

The satellites will be built using Rocket Lab’s Lightning spacecraft platform, adapted for the thermal, propulsion, and station-keeping demands of geostationary orbit.

The Heimdall optical payloads are designed to improve the Space Force’s ability to monitor and track objects operating within the increasingly contested GEO belt.

The contract also builds on Rocket Lab’s 2025 acquisition of GEOST, now operating as Rocket Lab Optical Systems, which originally developed the Heimdall prototype payloads under a prior Space Systems Command program.

Founder and CEO Peter Beck has continued pushing Rocket Lab deeper into national security and defense programs as the company expands beyond launch into end-to-end spacecraft manufacturing, satellite operations, and advanced orbital systems.

Image Credits: Rocket Lab