Naomi Cooper
Rocket Lab is planning to construct a new production and development complex in Middle River, Maryland, to manufacture advanced composite products for spacecraft and launch vehicles.
The company said Friday it will renovate 113,000 square feet of space at the former Lockheed Martin Vertical Launch Building to build the new Space Structures Complex that will house the production of launch vehicle structures, carbon composite spacecraft buses, satellite dispensers and other materials used for launch and space systems.
Rocket Lab will also use the facility to support the development and long-term supply of specially formulated carbon composite structures for Rocket Lab’s Neutron medium-lift launch vehicle.
The new complex will build on the company’s experience in advanced composite manufacturing, including developing the carbon composite orbital launch vehicle Electron and the Photon Lunar spacecraft that delivered NASA’s CAPSTONE satellite to the moon’s orbit.
“We have the experienced team, manufacturing and test equipment, established supply chain, and heritage to deliver reliable composite products to the space industry at scale, and because we’re deeply vertically integrated, we can do it fast and at competitive prices,” said Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab.
