Joining me now, Peter Beck, CEO and founder of Rocket Lab. Peter, it's great to speak with you today. You just put out quarterly earnings better than expectations. You also raised fourth quarter guidance. You continue to do more Electron launches and Space Systems continues to grow strongly. Walk me through what you're seeing across your businesses right now and what's propelling the momentum.
Yeah, no, thanks very much, Morgan. Well, I mean, it is as you say. So, you know, we continue to execute well on the Space Systems business. And Electron is the small launch vehicle product that we have. You know, we continue to do well with that. You know, the ASP continues to rise and bookings are incredibly strong. And then, of course, Neutron is making great progress. So, you know, there's a lot of technical milestones met and also some commercial ones as well, with the first signing of some contracts. So, yeah, no, it was a great quarter and, you know, we continue to see really, really strong momentum within all the business lines.
I do want to get to Neutron, but first, just the fact that so much of the time we talk about Rocket Lab, we talk about the rockets, but that Space Systems business—it is the business that's growing so strongly right now and is moving you closer to this path of profitability. So if we could just talk a little bit about what you're seeing there and the growth you're seeing there.
Yeah, no, you're exactly right. I mean, what we're trying to build here is an end-to-end space company. And launch is super important—it's literally the keys to space. But, you know, our space systems group is what enables us to build the infrastructure in orbit. So, you know, we supply components to a tremendous number of projects around the industry. But, you know, if you look across the space systems group right now, we have over 40 spacecraft in backlog, you know, ranging from missions to Mars through to telecommunications and national security missions. So, yeah, that part of the business continues to go from strength to strength. But I think it's always important to remind everybody that the end goal here is to build an end-to-end space company—launch being a cornerstone. But, as you point out, the ability to build whatever satellite you need to provide whatever service is desired is super important.
And so if we shift back to launch here, what are you seeing in terms of interest for Electron, especially as you do start to develop this new medium-lift rocket, Neutron?
Yeah, so, you know, Electron had another strong quarter with over $55 million of new bookings. And then, of course, Neutron—this is the largest project within the company. And Neutron is really designed to do a couple of things. One, you know, is to try and dislodge some of the medium-class launch monopoly that's in the industry today, and also, you know, provide an ability for us to launch our own payloads and build our own constellations and services in orbit. So having that reusable, multi-ton capability is really, really important.
Is Neutron still on track for its first flight next year?
Yeah, you bet. No, we're hitting some great milestones. So, you know, the Archimedes engine is going really well. And, you know, we had a major milestone of a Stage 2 tank, you know, in full flight configuration in a wet dress. So, no, it's going well. I mean, I always caveat with, you know, it's a rocket program, so anything can happen at any time. But, you know, right now, I think the team's feeling really good and, you know, we're reaching milestones that we need to.
And you announced that you signed your first customer as well. You've also stated your intention to go for national security contracts. What do you see as the biggest marketplace for that new rocket?
It's a bit of both, really. So, you know, there's tremendous demand within the commercial sector—a lot of mega constellations. And, you know, you saw us sign our first commercial customer in that vein. But also, you know, on national security—if you look at the national security front right now, especially in NSSL, you know, Phase 3 Lane 1, the last award was to one provider. So there's a desperate need for some kind of diversity within national security around that kind of Lane 1 medium-class launch. And, you know, we've been very lucky over the years to work very closely with the Space Force and, you know, to bring a vehicle to market that is incredibly relevant to the mission. So, yeah, no, we look forward to, you know, on-ramping the vehicle and playing our role within the national security of the nation.
So what do you think a second Trump administration is going to mean for space policy?
Well, I think it's good. I mean, you know, the administration has a very strong focus on space and national defense. And when space does well, Rocket Lab does well. So we're very happy about that. And of course, there's an even stronger focus on highly efficient contracting and highly efficient outcomes for taxpayers' dollars in the space domain. So that's where Rocket Lab excels as well. I mean, you know, if you look at our historical kind of government missions, they've always been at price points and timelines that I think this administration will find very attractive.
