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Rocket Lab pushes 1st launch of next-gen Neutron rocket to 2027
"We believe Neutron is going to be a game changer, and taking the time now to solve these challenges means we're in a better position to deliver a rocket that's ready to meet the needs for the industry for years to come."
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We'll have to wait a bit longer to see Rocket Lab's next-gen launcher fly.
The California-based company just announced that it's pushing the debut of its powerful, partially reusable Neutron rocket from late 2026 into 2027 due to a manufacturing issue.
"We believe Neutron is going to be a game-changer, and taking the time now to solve these challenges means we're in a better position to deliver a rocket that's ready to meet the needs for the industry for years to come," Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said in a video the company posted on YouTube late on Tuesday (Oct. 13).
Beck explained the issue in depth in that seven-minute video. It concerns the cabon-fiber propellant domes in Neutron's first stage — the large caps for the vehicle's fuel tanks, which hold liquid oxygen and liquid methane.
Rocket Lab makes the domes using an automated fiber placement machine, "which lays down the carbon with speed and accuracy," Beck said.
The company noticed a problem, however, after curing a recently manufactured forward (front-facing) dome: Inspectors found some voids within the carbon-fiber layers.
The voids "don't necessarily mean that the dome would fail in flight, but our practice is to proceed only when we believe the system has the appropriate margins," Beck said. "Possible success isn't our standard."
After analysis and testing, Rocket Lab added some "mitigations" to the dome-manufacturing process — a tweak that has done the trick, according to Beck.