MurrayJ

@RocketLab Neutron Fairings Warkworth NZ. Neutron fairings hit the road. Not very far up the road but what a sight to see! Had me fooled - I was expecting it to move over to the test stand but it turned left and out the gate🫢Tucked away in a big tent "For Now". Where to next⁉️

@Starlordman What made you think otherwise? 3 months is in Q2. 6 months is in Q3. This separation testing will be a green tick on the time line soon along with others.

@Muzznzer They are months off launching

Rocket Lab Neutron Stage 2 separation testing Warkworth New Zealand today. The test version of Stage 2 lowered into the test version of the Interstage where it "hangs". A very slow and careful operation - very precise work by the lady that drives the crane. I met her proud parents watching her work while I was there.

@sixstringsimple I'll try and catch some revealing action.

@Muzznzer I would love to know more about how they test that.

@Raffaello00x Stage 2 is ready for flight. What we see at Warkworth is part of the Flight Mechanisms Test Program. Check out rocketlabcorp.com/launch/neutron/

@Muzznzer is this the first time this is done? I thought stage 2 was ready

@JamesP1788662 Must have been about 3:30pm.

@Muzznzer What time were you there? I must have just missed it!

Hi John and Lee - the parents of the crane driver.

@ykykykkkkkkkkk If you mean by Hungry Hippo fairing the Fixed fairing section and not the "Jaws" then as @CaptinD2sr2 mentioned, the fixed fairing will quite likely sit on top of this "Interstage".

@Muzznzer A yes the interstage. Do you think that they will attach the hungry hippo fairing too?

Rocket Lab $RKLB Neutron Progress. Second Stage separation systems testing moving ahead at Rocket Lab Warkworth New Zealand facility. The rocket section on the stand and the stage 2 beside it look like to me like they are primarily for testing the separation mechanisms rather than for flight but they may also be multi use.

@ykykykkkkkkkkk I don't think so.

@ykykykkkkkkkkk Probably better to call it a simplified test version of the Interstage section. That is where the Stage 2 will hang. We will see how it works in the coming days.

@Muzznzer Looks like they moved the 1st stage to the stand 2nd stage sedation test incoming 👀

@EShoreSpaceflt @ykykykkkkkkkkk Oh sorry I see you got there already😁

@ykykykkkkkkkkk That's the Hungry Hippo getting some fresh air. It's so fat it's the only large piece of Neutron hardware to arrive. Hopefully we'll see the interstage come this way soon.

Rocket Lab Neutron AIC Update — March 9, 2026 The AIC looked fairly active during today’s check. As mentioned in the previous update, the container shelter structure is now fully completed, and it appears to currently be used for storage. With the warmer weather today, Rocket Lab had the large bay door open on Building 01, giving a rare look inside the facility. From the outside we could also see a boom lift raised up near the top of the building, suggesting work being done on equipment or infrastructure inside. Nice to see some movement at the AIC as the weather finally starts to warm up. @NASASpaceflight

@EShoreSpaceflt In Building 01 that looks like the back end of the Hungry Hippo.

@Lox_Denino @RealMattMoney How many will be successful and who will get the big bits. But the Rocket Lab logo will be on most of them.

@RealMattMoney This isn’t new. Just means they’re on the list of 2000 companies that can compete for contracts.

HUGE!!! Rocket Lab AWARDED New IDIQ from $MDA in 4Q 2025 for SHIELD program. Scalable Homeland innovative Enterprise Layered Defense system. FUTURE LAUNCH AND SPACE CONTRACTS TO DELIVER CAPABILITIES contract sharing up to $151B up for grabs.

@RocketLab @synspective Eight days a week Is not enough to show I care.

Next mission alert🚨 Electron's 84th launch will be a dedicated mission with 1x StriX satellite to continue building out the Earth observation constellation for @synspective. 'Eight Days A Week' is scheduled for liftoff NET: 🚀 6:45 am NZDT, March 20 🚀 2:45 am JST, March 20 🚀 17:45 UTC, March 19 🚀 1:45 pm EDT, March 19 🚀 10:45 am PDT, March 19

Well done @CaptinD2sr2 pulling all that together. It sure has been a brain teaser but now starting to make sense. I've witnessed the @RocketLab people working very hard every day to set this up - I have the utmost admiration for them. It will be great progress to have Stage 2 separation completed. I'll be keeping watch.

$RKLB Breakdown on what's going on at Rocket Labs warkworth faculty and the Strange Test stand we are about to see come to life. 🧵 credit to @Muzznzer for most of the photos here in this thread

@RealMattMoney Oops sorry, I didn't stop to think about delayed coverage for some😬

@Muzznzer Just saw what happened! (Avoiding spoilers for others) Only 20 mins into qualifying, still 7.5 mins left in Q1. Lots of qualifying to go!

I have the biggest smile on my face. Catching up on F1 opening race practice. Excited to see 11 teams on the grid this year. GO FERRARI - but hope Cadillac has a good showing this year. $RACE

@FranciscoSpace5 This was taken before it went outside. Uploaded on March 6, 2026 Taken on February 11, 2026 We'll have to wait until @spacepat_o gives us another update to see if it's back inside.

Looks like the interstage is back inside. We can see the second stage on the bottom right and some tank parts on the right. The thrust structure is back out on the stand now. We are seeing movement. I like it. $RKLB For more RL pictures click on the link below; flickr.com/photos/rocketl…

@will__hall1 You get some sense of scale here - this is only about one 3rd of the heights of the complete Neutron rocket - it's going to be a lot bigger than it looks in the renders.

Found some new neutron pictures. flickr.com/photos/rocketl…

The transcript of the Earnings where Peter Beck said that. "Peter Beck (Founder, President, and CEO) No, I think it's very constructive. I think, you know, naturally, that Europe is looking to create sovereign capability, but, I think that also, you know, the conversations we've had, they're very pragmatic and realistic that, you know, the capability they're looking to create takes a long time. You know, working with, for example, a Rocket Lab Europe, is a great way to move forward."

$RKLB One of the things I’ve learned from listening to @RocketLab earnings calls throughout all these years is that there’s almost always something mentioned that goes minimally noticed, until it’s in your face. And later you realize it was there all along. For this earnings call, one of the things that caught my attention was: “Rocket Lab Europe.” If you’ve been following the Mynaric acquisition story, those two words might be doing a lot more work than they appear to. I’ve been doing some research and here is what I’m thinking: What if Rocket Lab offers to establish a formal Rocket Lab Europe subsidiary, anchored in Germany, built around the Mynaric workforce, designed to hold sovereign European contracts…as part of getting this acquisition approved? It sounds like a concession. But I actually think it might be a move Rocket Lab was already considering, and the Mynaric deal just accelerates it. Rocket Lab already has an Australian subsidiary. That entity exists to interface with Australian and AUKUS-aligned defense programs, keep certain work onshore, and give the Australian government a local entity to contract with. It’s wholly owned, @Peter_J_Beck has full control, but it creates the legal structure that satisfies sovereign requirements. That’s the template. And in a negotiation with the German Economics Ministry, being able to point to a functioning model and say we’ve done this, we know how it works, is very meaningful and adds credibility. But Germany has nuances that Australia doesn’t, like codetermination law. Above certain employee thresholds, German law requires worker representation on company supervisory boards. That means if a Rocket Lab Europe subsidiary grows to scale, Mynaric’s own workforce would eventually have legal Board seats in Rocket Lab Europe. This would be triggered by having over 499 employees. Mynaric right now probably doesn’t hit those thresholds. So in the near term it might not be an issue. There’s also the export control question. Australia’s defense framework is largely aligned with the US, which is part of why AUKUS functions the way it does. Germany sits inside EU dual-use export regulations and has its own national controls. Managing what flows between a German subsidiary and the US parent, especially for laser comm technology with obvious defense applications, is more complex. A Rocket Lab European presence isn’t just about getting the Mynaric deal done. It’s about accessing ESA programs, EU defense contracts, and initiatives like IRIS. Mynaric already has those relationships in Europe. A Rocket Lab Europe entity preserves and extends them. The acquisition stops being about absorbing a company and starts being about planting a flag on an entire continent’s worth of future business. “Rocket Lab Europe”. It might be nothing. But it also might be the two words that explain how this whole Mynaric situation resolves, and why this has taken so long. Just my thoughts. Would love to hear what the $RKLB community is thinking.