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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. 28, 2026, 12:18 a.m.

Mission success.


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 28, 2026, 12:04 a.m.

Payload separation.


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 28, 2026, midnight

Liftoff.


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 27, 2026, 11:38 p.m.

New T-0.


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 27, 2026, 11:28 p.m.

Hold at T-2:56.


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: 95 Failures: 4 Pending: 59

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
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…

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.

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.

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…

Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C)


Long March 12
In Flight
1 hour, 44 minutes ago
SatNet LEO Group TBD?
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A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
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Glonass-K1? (Kosmos 2621?)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity uncertain. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite navigation system. GLONASS is a Rus…


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Long March 2C
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3 days, 6 hours ago
Yaogan 51-07 to 09
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Kinetica 2
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SpaceSail Polar Group #17
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Electron
Success
6 days, 5 hours ago
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Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 15-18
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.


GSLV Mk II
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Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

This is a replacement satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. The constellation will provide India with an alternative to GPS …


Falcon 9
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Starlink Group 15-16
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A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.