Rocket Lab has postponed the launch of its next mission in response to the COVID-19 situation. The company has posted the following...

In response to the evolving COVID-19 situation, we have paused launch preparations for our next mission to protect the health and safety of Rocket Lab team members, our families, and the wider community.

The mission was scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand on 30 March UTC. Launch preparations have been paused, however, following the New Zealand Government’s announcement on 23 March NZDT to implement the Level 4 COVID-19 response which requires most businesses to close and instructs people to stay at home. We commend the government for taking this drastic but necessary step to limit the spread of COVID-19.

We have the full support of our customers in pausing operations and we are grateful for their understanding in these challenging times. We are working with the government, health officials, and our customers to determine when launch operations can resume. The launch vehicle and ground systems will remain in a state of readiness for launch as the evolving situation allows it. The majority of our team is working from home with the exception of a few essential personnel who are monitoring and maintaining critical systems.

In recent years, we have placed an increased emphasis on delivering responsive launch capability for our customers, which means having launch vehicles and pads ready for rapid call-up launch capability. As a result of this approach, we’re fortunate to have enough launch vehicles ready that we can effectively manage a pause in production and still have vehicles available for launch as soon as conditions allow.

In the days, weeks, and months to come, we’ll be following the advice of the government and health authorities to protect our teams in the United States and New Zealand.

Our deepest thanks go to the medical professionals, scientists and researchers, supermarket workers, and all those providing essential services in these trying times. We are grateful for all that you do.

Be safe and look out for each other.