Rocket Lab wins NASA contract for three New Zealand launches

Friday, 26 June 2026

The PolSIR and TSIS-2 missions will fly across three dedicated Electron launches from Q1 2027 to meet each mission’s time-sensitive requirements.

Rocket Lab has secured a new NASA contract to launch three scientific missions from its New Zealand launch site, with the flights set to take place in 2027.

The California-headquartered space company said NASA had selected its Electron rocket to carry two separate Earth and solar science missions – PolSIR and TSIS-2 – from Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula.

The agreement includes two dedicated Electron launches for NASA’s Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer (PolSIR) mission from no earlier than June 2027, along with a separate launch for the Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor-2 (TSIS-2) mission in early 2027.

Electron rockets will carry two Earth science missions from Māhia in 2027, with NASA citing Rocket Lab’s precision and rapid launch capability.

NASA selected Rocket Lab based on Electron’s launch reliability, precise orbital deployment capability and its ability to meet the missions’ tight schedules, the company said.

The PolSIR mission will deploy two CubeSats into separate orbits to study high-altitude tropical ice clouds. Scientists will use the data to improve weather and climate models by examining how the clouds form, evolve and influence Earth’s atmosphere.

TSIS-2 will measure the Sun’s energy reaching Earth across ultraviolet, visible and infrared wavelengths. NASA says the data will support research into ozone recovery, air quality and the Earth’s climate system.

The California-headquartered space company said NASA had selected its Electron rocket to carry two separate Earth and solar science missions – PolSIR and TSIS-2 – from Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula.

Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Sir Peter Beck said the latest contract highlighted Electron’s reputation with the US space agency.

“Electron has become synonymous with reliability, precise orbital accuracy, and on-demand launch capability and we’ve been delivering this for NASA missions for almost a decade,” Beck said.

The agreement includes two dedicated Electron launches for NASA’s Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer (PolSIR) mission from no earlier than June 2027.

“We’re proud to deliver this once again for PolSIR and TSIS-2.”

Rocket Lab said the TSIS-2 mission demonstrated one of Electron’s key advantages, with the launch booked just seven months before its scheduled liftoff to meet NASA’s time-sensitive requirements.

The company is also preparing for several other NASA projects, including the Aspera astrophysics mission and the LOXSAT mission, which will test in-space refuelling technology that could support future missions to the Moon and Mars.