In the six months since Rocket Lab revealed its hypersonic test vehicle, the California-based launch company has flown its first mission, signed deals for at least five more and been selected to demonstrate high-speed test capabilities for the Defense Innovation Unit. The Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron vehicle, or HASTE, is a modified version of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket and is designed to support high-speed test efforts. Brian Rogers, senior director of global launch services, predicts demand for HASTE to continue to grow as the company logs more flights.
Rocket Lab decided to pursue HASTE last year, after the Pentagon’s then-Principal Director for Hypersonics Mike White called for the testing community to expand the number of flight test opportunities available to programs and set an ambitious target of one event per week. The company’s workhorse Electron rocket was already matching or exceeding that once-a-month launch cadence for orbital launch missions, and Rocket Lab saw an opportunity to take advantage of its pace and existing production line to get after the department’s challenge.
Its first flight in June was for the Pentagon’s Multi-Service Advanced Hypersonic Testbed, MACH-TB. Just days after that launch, Rocket Lab secured a contract with a “confidential” customer and in September the company announced Leidos had selected HASTE to fly four more MACH-TB launches. The Defense Innovation Unit also selected HASTE for its Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Test Cadence program, or HyCAT.
While he wouldn’t specify the price of a HASTE rocket, Rogers said it’s in the range of $10 million, which is a fraction of the cost of a full-up DoD test, which can be as much as $100 million. Rogers said he thinks that price point and Rocket Lab’s ability to move quickly will give HASTE broad appeal in the commercial market, as companies seek platforms to test hypersonic payloads for non-defense missions.
