Private aerospace companies Rocket Lab and Sierra Space are joining the US Air Force's Rocket Cargo project, which aims to transport cargo around the world using space as a highway.
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Rocket Lab announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) that could potentially see its small Electron and future Neutron carry cargo to different locations on Earth. Rocket Lab is also considering its Photon rocket as a platform for in-orbit cargo depots and as a reentry delivery vehicle.
“Point-to-point space transportation offers a new ability to rapidly move equipment around the world in a matter of hours, enabling faster response to global emergencies and natural disasters,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck.
Rocket Lab's 60-foot-tall Electron rocket has already flown 29 times, while the larger Neutron rocket is expected to begin launching into space in 2024 with a payload capacity of 30,000 pounds. Meanwhile, the company's upper echelon recently launched NASA to the Moon.
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The U.S. Air Force's Rocket Cargo was announced last year as a way to deliver supplies, and possibly personnel, around the world in a matter of hours using space launch vehicles. The Air Force wants to do this using commercial rockets, having already signed a similar deal with SpaceX earlier this year worth $102 million, and inked a deal with Jeff Bezos ' Blue Origin late last year.
Rocket Lab is the latest to sign on for the rocket delivery project, along with Sierra Space. The Nevada-based private space company also announced an agreement with the U.S. Air Force on Thursday to use its Dream Chaser, which is still under development, for supersonic transport.
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The idea of using space launch vehicles to carry cargo for the U.S. military has been around for a while, but the recent development in commercial spaceflight was the push it needed to get the project off the ground. “ The reason we’re doing it now is because it looks like the technology can work ,” said Greg Spanjers , Rocket Cargo program manager at AFRL.
