Rocket Lab Successfully Launches Its 66th Electron Rocket
Rocket Lab USA Inc. RKLB recently completed its 66th successful Electron rocket launch. The latest launch mission encompassed the deployment of the QPS-SAR-11 satellite into the Earth's orbit.This mission is part of the contract that Rocket Lab secured in February 2025, from Japan-based Earth imaging company iQPS, marking one of its largest Electron launch agreements to date. This deal involves eight dedicated Electron launches, with six missions scheduled for 2025, out of which four are already completed, and two in 2026.Such successful missions reflect RKLB's proven expertise in launch services and further strengthen its footprint in the space industry.
In the modern era of space exploration, factors like rapid technological advancements, the growing demand for satellite deployment, increasing commercial space activities and rising investments in space infrastructure are fueling the growth of the space launch services market.This must have prompted the Grand View Research firm to estimate that the global space launch services market will witness a compound annual growth rate of 15.6% during the 2024-2030 time period.Such robust market growth prospects are expected to benefit companies like Rocket Lab. With its advanced Electron rocket and expanding capabilities in small satellite launches, the company is well-positioned to leverage the booming demand for frequent and cost-effective launches. It is also making strides in reusable rocket technology, which significantly reduces costs and improves launch efficiency.To capture further market shares, Rocket Lab is currently developing the Neutron rocket, designed for larger payloads and constellation deployments. This new product should further bolster RKLB's position in the market and fetch solid revenues.
Other companies that are expected to enjoy the perks of the expanding global space launch services market have been discussed below.Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC: It is one of the key players in the space industry, providing launch vehicles and propulsion systems through its space systems division. The company's innovations in rocket technology and satellite deployment make it a significant beneficiary of the growing demand for space launch services.Northrop has a long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate of 3.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOC's 2025 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 2.8%.The Boeing Company BA and Lockheed Martin Corporation's LMT joint venture, United Launch Alliance ('ULA'), has been the United States' premier launch services provider since its establishment in 2006. The JV has successfully launched more than 150 Atlas and Delta rockets since 2006.Boeing has a long-term earnings growth rate of 18.1%, while that for Lockheed is pegged at 10.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimates for BA and LMT's 2025 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 25.6 and 4.7%, respectively.
Shares of RKLB have gained 501.3% in the past year compared with the industry's 42.2% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
RKLB currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Making private assets accessible to your 401(k): Expert weighs in
Empower announced that it will be offering private market investments and real estate opportunities for clients' 401(k) plans. Bow River Capital managing director of evergreen strategies Jeremy Held sits down with Wealth's Brad Smith to speak more about these trends and the illiquid nature of these asset classes. Hear more about three types of alternate assets to consider adding to your personal portfolio. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. Wall Street is increasingly interested in bringing private assets to everyday investors. Financial services firm Empower, which oversees $1.8 trillion in 401k accounts for 19 million people, recently announced that it will offer private credit, equity, and real estate into some of its accounts later on this year. But there are certain issues tied to private assets and mainstream use. According to our very own Bob Powell, private assets can be complex and illiquid, meaning they aren't. Easily bought or sold, these assets tend to have higher fees and there's less transparency because private companies aren't subject to the same disclosure rules as public companies. Our next guest says that there's plumbing that will have to be modified to allow these assets into 401ks. Here with more we've got Jeremy Held who is the managing director of Evergreen Strategies at Boat River Capital. Great to have you here with us. Boat River we know is a Denver-based. Alternative asset managers specializing in private credit equity and real estate among other assets. So what kind of changes do need to be made to that plumbing in order for this to be reality and accessible to more people saving for retirement? Yeah, look, I think the 401k market is a huge opportunity for investors to access the same types of private investments that institutional investors have had for years. The problem is and the challenges, and these are challenges that can be overcome. Is that the plumbing, the operations, the mechanics of investing in 401ks is really made for mutual funds with daily accessibility, and I do think that the benefits do outweigh some of those challenges in terms of accessing just a much broader set of investments so I do think that. The 401k industry, the private equity industry, the, the operations firms that access the space will definitely make changes because I think it's in the, in the best interest of investors to have access to private companies in addition to public companies. And so we had talked about the liquid nature of some of these investments if they were packaged up and put into a broader investment vehicle for retirement. Should people who are saving for retirement still be concerned about the illiquid nature or what should be the thought process or the conversations you're having? Yeah, you know it's, it's a great question. I think you know what investors should be asking themselves at all times, whether they're retirement investors, taxable investors, is do I need to have 100% of my assets, 100% liquid, 100% of the time. And if the answer to that is no, even if it's 85% or 90 or 95% of their assets are liquid, if they open up a small percentage to being illiquid, you can really open up the opportunity set for investors and and invest in a much broader array of companies. And so with that in mind, what is kind of the time horizon that you see more often among the clients that you're working with? Yeah, I mean, typically. We're working with long term oriented clients. They're they're building a financial plan for 5 years, 10 years, 20 years and beyond. I mean you think about it, 401k accounts are really ideally suited for a long investment horizon. You have people that are contributing to their 401k accounts in their 20s and 30s. They have a long term time horizon, and I think private assets are really ideally suited for that time horizon for some of those private assets. I, I wonder what happens and how do you approach it when a private company. Makes their foray into becoming a publicly traded company because obviously the liquidity profile then changes significantly. It does and I think what's happened a lot over the past really two or three decades, there's half as many public companies today as there were in the 90s. Companies are staying private a lot longer. A lot of private, a lot of public companies are being taken. And so there is that that opportunity for a private company to go public, but there's also the opportunity for public companies to go private, and I think investors want to have access to that broader that broader universe. What are the other assets outside of companies as we talk about and think about real estate and the credit side of this too? Yeah, I think when people think about accessing markets today. They're not just thinking about public or private, they're saying I want an allocation to real estate and I'm gonna own some public real estate and some private real estate. I want an allocation to credit. I'll own some public credit and some private credit and the same thing, of course, in in equity. I'm gonna own public equities and private equity. And they think about how do I build the most diversified portfolio possible and that includes both public and private assets. What's the entry point for a retirement vehicle like this? Yeah, I think Evergreen funds, which are a new type of vehicle that are really transforming the way people access private investments, is really the best entry point. These are vehicles that are immediately invested. They're highly diversified minimums as low as $50,000 and that's really a much more efficient way for a broader universe like 401k investors to access the private markets. Do you see those minimums going lower in the future as more people try to gain exposure? I do. I do think there's gonna be some changes from a regulatory perspective. Historically, alternative investments have been limited to qualified purchasers, accredited investors. Those eliminations, those restrictions are going away, and I do think you'll see minimums go from what used to be 5 million now it went to $1,050,000 and ultimately those will go even below there. Great to have you here with us, Jeremy in town from Denver, Colorado. Appreciate the time. Yeah, thanks, Brad.
The Verge
43 minutes ago
- The Verge
Answering the Nintendo Switch 2's lingering accessibility questions
One of the biggest surprises of the Nintendo Switch 2's reveal was its proposed accessibility. For years, Nintendo has been known for accidentally stumbling on accessibility solutions while stubbornly refusing to engage with the broader subject. Yet, in the Switch 2, there appeared a more holistic approach to accessibility for which disabled players have been crying out. This was supported by a webpage dedicated to the Switch 2's hardware accessibility. However, specifics were thin and no further information emerged ahead of the Switch 2's debut. Now, having spent the last week with the Switch 2, I've found that this limited information hid, aside from a few missteps, an impressive suite of system-level accessibility considerations and advances that somewhat offset the otherwise gradual update the Switch 2 represents. But as we finally answer lingering accessibility questions over the Switch 2, there's a nagging sense that this information should have been readily available ahead of launch. How intuitive is the setup? Very, but blind players may need assistance I tend to find setup procedures dense and unapproachable thanks to cognitive disability. Yet I was pleasantly surprised at how breezy the Switch 2's setup was. Aside from a few hiccups trying to decipher Virtual Game Cards (a feature I ended up opting out of), the whole process was intuitive and fast. Accessibility features, however, are not available during setup. The console's text-to-speech is not enabled by default, nor can you access text sizing and zoom options. This will represent a significant barrier to entry for some, and blind players may require sighted assistance during setup. Are Switch controllers and Joy-Cons compatible with the Switch 2? Yes, including the Hori Flex The increased size of the Joy-Con 2 feels better this time around, as does the Joy-Con 2 grip. But the controller size and the grip's unergonomic square shape still don't take long to incite my hand pain. Fortunately, Switch controllers and Joy-Cons are usable on the Switch 2, and the ability to default to the original Pro Controller is welcome. It's encouraging that you can pair other controllers with the Switch 2 using peripherals like the Magic-S Pro 2. Though, given recent trends in third-party peripheral support, I'd be reluctant to suggest that support is here to stay. We're already seeing some connectivity issues around third-party controllers, especially 8BitDo gamepads, with 8BitDo working on updates to get those working with the Switch 2. What is supported, however, is Nintendo's licensed adaptive controller: the Hori Flex. This works docked and in tabletop mode for games that don't require mouse controls (some other features, like motion controls, may also cause issues). Keep in mind, you will need a USB-A to USB-C adapter to connect in tabletop mode. Can you connect a USB keyboard? Yes Not everyone finds onscreen keyboards intuitive or accessible. The good news is you can connect a USB keyboard through the console's USB-C ports and use that instead, including during setup. What is the text-to-speech speed? It's inconsistent, but US English is 120–130 words per minute on average We have no official number on the speed at which the Switch 2's text-to-speech reads, but we can estimate. Using the information the system reads when you enable text-to-speech, we've found that both voice options averaged around 120–130 words per minute in US English. For UK English, it was 130–140 words per minute. Different languages will see different rates. There was some inconsistency in repeated tests that could not be accounted for simply by considering when timers were started and stopped. That's not the only quirk in the system. Players should be aware there is a noticeable delay between landing on a menu option and the text-to-speech kicking in. Similarly, during testing, toggling text-to-speech off led to a notification with the word 'disabled.' Reenabling the function without moving out of the accessibility menu, however, did not lead to anything suggesting text-to-speech was back on. All told, however, it's a good system, controlled by a discrete speed slider that ranges from 50 percent to 300 percent. The slowest rate for US English users reads at around 60–70 words per minute and the max speed, where many blind players operate, is in the region of 400–420 words per minute. What screens don't support text-to-speech? The eShop When enabling text-to-speech, you're told the function may not be supported on all screens. As things stand, it looks like text-to-speech works across all system-level menus, but not on the Nintendo eShop. Given this is the first place most players visit after setup, that's an oversight that needs rectifying soon. Most games also don't support system-level text-to-speech, including Mario Kart World. Can you adjust the Switch 2's audio balance? No Outside the ability to toggle mono audio — an important feature for hard-of-hearing players — greater audio customization is not available on the Switch 2 at a system level. Does GameChat's speech-to-text transcribe swearing? You bet it fucking does! You may already know that GameChat's speech-to-text will transcribe swear words. While this was reported widely as a bit of fun, it's also an important accessibility feature that allows users — especially deaf players — to engage fully with in-game communication without having to decipher improper transcription and censored text. It's not perfect. You may find speech-to-text swaps in odd words at times, but this is an error rather than censorship of specific terms. Can you remap controls? At a system level, yes Within the Switch 2's settings, players can remap all inputs on connected controllers, and do so for each Joy-Con independently. You can also toggle the ability to access this menu at any time from the Switch 2's quick menu, accessed by holding Home. Unfortunately, current evidence suggests this option will not be present in Nintendo's first-party games. Mario Kart World does not include any remapping options. Some might ask why this is a problem if system-level input rebinding exists, but in-game options for remapping are more instructive and convenient, and they limit rebindings to specific actions in-game rather than having to continuously rebind on a system level for every game. Being able to remap on the fly through the quick menu only mitigates this so much. This is something Nintendo appears to understand, allowing remapping in the new GameCube games available to Switch Online subscribers. A quiet win overall It all adds up to an impressive suite of accessibility features and customization that will, hopefully, grow in time. The strange part is that Nintendo is being so quiet about it. The Verge reached out multiple times for clarification on the Switch 2's accessibility and for more information relating to the questions above, but Nintendo didn't respond. One might expect that points to an internal awareness that features aren't as robust as they should be. Outside a few missteps, however, this is a significant accessibility win and one would think Nintendo would want it out there. More importantly, and this is a lesson to anyone releasing a device or game: players need clear accessibility information ahead of release to make informed buying decisions and secure any help that might be needed. Nintendo's shift to greater accessibility is welcome. But in restricting the flow of information before release, the win is tempered somewhat by Nintendo's willingness to keep its players in the dark.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
WestJet dealing with 'cybersecurity incident' impacting access to internal systems, app
WestJet is alerting its employees and the public about a "cybersecurity incident" involving the Calgary-based airline's internal systems and app. In a news release on Friday, the airline said several people trying to access its services have faced "restricted access" as a result of the incident. "We have activated specialized internal teams in co-operation with law enforcement and Transport Canada to investigate the matter and limit impacts." The release said the airline is "expediting efforts" to keep its operations safe and "safeguard sensitive data and personal information," and apologizes for any disruption to access to its services. It added it's "too early to speculate on any details," but WestJet will share more information when available, and advises people using its services and employees to be cautious about sharing personal data. CBC News reached out on Saturday morning to WestJet to get clarification on information in its release and for more details, including how many people may have been impacted and whether anyone's personal information has been accessed. This story will be updated with any response.
