Shares of aerospace and defense company Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) jumped 6.2% in afternoon trading after NASA selected the company for three dedicated Electron rocket launches covering two science missions.
The announcement was made after the previous day’s market close, lifting shares in after-hours trading before fueling sustained buying momentum into the regular session.
The contract covers the PolSIR (Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer) and TSIS-2 (Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor-2) missions, with launches scheduled to begin in early 2027.
The win is part of NASA’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contract, providing Rocket Lab with a concrete near-term revenue catalyst tied to government science priorities.
The contract also reinforces Rocket Lab’s standing as a preferred small-launch provider for U.S. science agencies, tasked with delivering research satellites into precisely targeted orbits.
Rocket Lab’s shares are extremely volatile, having recorded 82 moves greater than 5% over the last year, suggesting the market views this news as meaningful but not fundamentally transformative.
Nine days prior, the stock gained 3.4% after the company received positive attention from Wall Street, including an analyst upgrade and price target increases ahead of its inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 Index.
KeyBanc upgraded Rocket Lab from Hold to Buy, while Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target, citing strong execution and a rising backlog as key drivers of renewed investor confidence.
The company recently reported its first-ever quarter with over $200 million in revenue and a record $2.2 billion order backlog, positioning it as a credible publicly traded option for investors seeking space sector exposure.
Renewed broader interest in the sector has also been driven by the highly anticipated IPO of SpaceX, which has pulled investor attention back toward commercial space companies.
Rocket Lab is up 12.3% since the beginning of the year, though at $85.36 per share, the stock remains 43.2% below its 52-week high of $150.23 reached in May 2026.
Investors who purchased $1,000 worth of Rocket Lab shares five years ago would now be holding a position valued at $7,795, reflecting significant long-term appreciation despite recent pullbacks from peak levels.
