Why Rocket Lab Stock Is Soaring Today

Rocket Lab (RKLB +8.23%) stock is rising in Friday's daily trading session. The company's share price was up 7.6% as of 2:10 p.m. ET amid the backdrop of a 0.6% gain for the S&P 500 and a 0.5% gain for the Nasdaq Composite.

In addition to bullish momentum for the broader market, Rocket Lab stock is climbing today thanks to a contract win and launch news. The company's share price is now up 94% in 2026 as of this writing.

Image source: Getty Images.

Rocket Lab rises on new contract win

After the market closed yesterday, Rocket Lab announced that it had secured a $90 million contract with the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command. The new deal will see the company design and operate two geostationary satellites featuring its Heimdall optical payload. The deal is particularly significant because it marks Rocket Lab's first satellite production deal for geostationary orbit applications and sees the company acting as an end-to-end services provider spanning from design, launch, and operations.

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NASDAQ: RKLB

Rocket Lab

Today's Change

(8.23%) $10.33

Current Price

$135.78

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$79B

Day's Range

$131.34 - $139.74

52wk Range

$25.24 - $139.76

Volume

1.1M

Avg Vol

24.3M

Gross Margin

33.77%

Rocket Lab notches another successful launch

Before the market opened this morning, Rocket Lab published a press release announcing that it completed another successful satellite launch for Synspective. The launch marked the ninth successful launch of Synspective's StriX satellites. With Rocket Lab securing another contract through the U.S. Space Force and delivering another satellite launch, the company has continued to rack up wins and continues to flash strong demand indicators.