10 Firms in the Limelight

7. Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)

Rocket Lab rallied for a second day on Friday, surging 17.69 percent to close at $70.52 apiece after bagging a potential billion-dollar contract to develop and produce satellites for the US Space Development Agency.

Touted as its largest single contract to date, Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) said that the partnership includes an $806 million base contract, $10.45 million in options, and opportunities for the supply of other items.

Under the base contract, Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) would manufacture 18 satellites equipped with advanced missile warning, tracking, and defense sensors to provide global, persistent detection and tracking of emerging missile threats, including hypersonic systems.

Each satellite will feature its Phoenix infrared sensor payload, a wide field-of-view (WFOV) solution designed to meet the evolving missile defense needs of national security space, as well as advanced StarLite space protection sensors, designed to safeguard the constellation against directed energy threats.

Meanwhile, it would also supply items such as payloads, solar solutions, attitude determination and control components (ACDS), software, among others.

The contract forms part of the Tracking Layer Tranche 3 (TRKT3) program under the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).

“Demand for resilient, scalable, and affordable space systems continues to grow, and this award demonstrates that Rocket Lab is uniquely positioned to lead the charge in delivering solutions that meet the needs of national security,” said Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) CEO Peter Beck.