Rocket Lab shares fall after ‘launch issue’

Shares of Rocket Lab fell Tuesday after the aerospace company said it experienced an undisclosed issue during its latest launch.

The stock pared some losses and was at about $4.70 per share during midday trading. Rocket Lab now anticipates providing a revised third-quarter revenue guidance.

In its second-quarter earnings report, the company projected launch revenues of around $30 million. Overall, Rocket Lab said it predicted $73million to $77 million, with the majority generated from its space systems division.

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Rocket Lab's stock has fallen around 60% since 2021-end, when space investments started drying up. As of last close, its market capitalization stood at $2.44 billion.

Its Electron rocket was carrying satellites for American space tech company Capella Space, which provides radar and Earth observation technology.

"Following lift-off from Launch Complex 1, the rocket successfully completed a first stage burn and stage separation as planned, before an issue was experienced at around T+ 2 minutes and 30 seconds into flight, resulting in the end of the mission," the company said in a statement. "We are deeply sorry to our partners Capella Space for the loss of the mission."

Rocket Lab is now working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and supporting agencies in the mishap’s follow-up investigation.

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"We will identify the issue swiftly and implement corrective actions and return to the pad shortly," the company said. 

Rocket Lab’s next launch was slated for the late third quarter but has now been postponed to carry out corrective actions.

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The aerospace company's Electron rocket has previously delivered 171 satellites to orbit over 37 successful orbital missions.

Reuters contributed to this report