Rocket Lab launches US Space Force mission with less than 17 hours' notice — a new record

Rocket Lab has successfully launched the second spacecraft for the U.S. Space Force's Victus Haze Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission, setting a new readiness record in the process. Only 16 hours and 42 minutes passed between Rocket Lab receiving the Notice To Launch from the Space Force's Space Safari Program Office and liftoff of the company's Electron launch vehicle , beating the previous TacRS record set by Firefly Aerospace on the September 2023 Victus Nox mission by more than 10 hours. Liftoff occurred on Friday (June 19) at 6:19 a.m. EDT (1019 GMT, 10:19 p.m., local time), from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex-1, in New Zealand, beginning a rapid-response demonstration designed to simulate a real-world orbital threat scenario. Rocket Lab's Electron rocket launched on Friday (June 19) at 6:19 a.m. EDT (1019 GMT, 10:19 p.m., local time), from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex-1, in New Zealand. (Image credit: Rocket Lab) Electron delivered a Rocket Lab -built Pioneer spacecraft to low Earth orbit (LEO), where it has begun pursuit of another Victus Haze spacecraft that was launched by SpaceX in May and serves as the target vehicle for the demonstration — True Anomaly's Jackal satellite . …