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Watch the Launch

Additional Media

That's Not A Knife

Rocket Lab will launch a HASTE hypersonic test mission for the US Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) in 2026 for its HyCat program, an initiative to provide the DIU with valuable hypersonic test data for future hypersonic programs. The mission will deploy a scram-jet powered vehic...

That's Not A Knife (DART AE)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Suborbital
Mission: Government/Top Secret

Suborbital Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C) Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA Probability: 90%

Payload is a scramjet-powered hypersonic vehicle developed by by Australian company Hypersonix.

Telemetry

Launch trajectory and telemetry simulations provided by Flight Club - a rocket launch simulator and orbital trajectory visualiser for all things space!

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 23, 2026, 8:42 p.m.

Delayed to NET February 25.


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 24, 2026, 5:19 p.m.

Tweaked launch window.


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 25, 2026, 7:57 p.m.

Scrubbed for the day.


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 26, 2026, 3:45 p.m.

NET February 27, to be confirmed.


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 26, 2026, 7:57 p.m.

GO for launch on February 27.


Electron

Family:
Configuration:

Electron is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle (with an optional third stage) developed by the American aerospace company Rocket Lab. Electron is a small-lift launch vehicle designed to launch small satellites and cubesats to sun-synchronous orbit and low earth orbit. The Electron is the first orbital class rocket to use electric-pump-fed engines, powered by the 9 Rutherford engines on the first stage. It is also used as a suborbital testbed (called HASTE) for hypersonics research.

See Details
Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    2
  • Max Stage
    3
  • Length
    18.0 m
  • Diameter
    1.2 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    1.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    13.0 T
  • Thrust
    162.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Electron
  • Family
    ―
  • Variant
    ―
  • Alias
    ―
  • Full Name
    Electron
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $6000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    300.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    ―
  • Direct Geostationary
    ―
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    225.0 kg

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab

(RL)

CEO: Peter Beck Founded: 2006 Successes: 93 Failures: 4 Pending: 41

Agency Type:

Rocket Lab is an American aerospace manufacturer with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. The company develops lightweight, cost-effective commercial rocket launch services. The Electron Program was founded on the premise that small payloads such as CubeSats require dedicated small launch vehicles and flexibility not currently offered by traditional rocket systems. Its rocket, the Electron, is a light-weight rocket and is now operating commercially. The company is also producing a variety of spacecrafts and spacecrafts components.

INFO WIKI
SpaceDaily

Australian hypersonic test flight window announced

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 18, 2026 Australian hypersonic flight developer Hypersonix Launch Systems has set the launch window for a landmark test of its DART AE scramjet-powered vehicle, moving the company a step closer to sustained hy…

NASASpaceflight

Launch Preview: Falcon 9 to launch five Starlink missions, Firefly to launch Alpha

Seven missions are on this week’s launch manifest, with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 dominating the schedule.… The post Launch Preview: Falcon 9 to launch five Starlink missions, Firefly to launch Alpha appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Space Scout

Rocket Lab Showcases Hypersonic Test Flight

On February 27th, 2026, Rocket Lab launched the “That’s Not A Knife” mission from Wallops Island, Virginia, carrying a hypersonic test vehicle for the Defense Innovation Unit.

NASA

NASA Wallops Supports First Rocket Lab HASTE Launch of 2026

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility supported a Rocket Lab HASTE suborbital launch from the company’s Launch Complex 2 in Virginia on Feb. 27, 2026. The mission, called Cassowary Vex, supported a flight of a hypersonic test platform for the Dep…

Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C)


Starship
Go
2 days, 7 hours ago
Starlink Group 31-1 (Starship Flight 14)
Orbital Launch Pad 2 - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

14th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. 3rd flight of Starship V3 and the first Starship flight to deploy satellites (a group of S…


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 5 hours ago
USSF-385
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bu…


Electron
Success
4 days, 18 hours ago
Owlright, Owlright, Owlright (StriX Launch 13)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.


Long March 6A
Success
6 days, 10 hours ago
Yaogan 40 Group 04
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 Chinese reconnaissance satellites of unknown purposes, officially reported as for "Electromagnetic environment probing".


Long March 8A
Success
1 week ago
SatNet LEO Group 26
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Kinetica 1
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
9 satellites
Launch Area 130 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Share-ride of 9 commercial Earth observation and technology demonstration satellites to SSO, details TBD.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 15-27
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2D
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
PIESAT-2 13-16
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.


Electron
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Owl By The Dozen (StriX Launch 12)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Satellite serial number and Cosmos designation not confirmed. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite n…