Rocket Lab Completes HASTE Launch for Hypersonic Defense Testing

Rocket Lab successfully executed the launch of its suborbital Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) rocket on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, a mission officially designated "Prometheus Run." The ascent commenced precisely at 8:00 a.m. EST from Launch Complex 2 at Wallops Island, Virginia, a key facility managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

This suborbital flight mission was jointly commissioned by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) of the United States to advance national security objectives through the validation of advanced missile defense technologies. The HASTE vehicle is an adapted variant of Rocket Lab's 59-foot Electron orbital launcher, engineered to enable high-cadence flight testing for hypersonic and suborbital systems. This specific launch marked the sixth operational flight for the HASTE platform since its debut in June 2023.

Structurally derived from the Electron rocket, the HASTE system utilizes the same carbon composite structures and 3D-printed Rutherford engines but features a modified Kick Stage and an increased payload capacity of approximately 700 kg (1,540 pounds), optimized for hypersonic research. The vehicle is designed to propel test payloads to speeds exceeding 7.5 kilometers per second, a velocity profile essential for replicating the extreme conditions encountered in actual hypersonic flight regimes.

The mission involved the deployment of a primary scientific payload, developed in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL), a research center with a long history in missile defense development. Furthermore, the launcher carried several secondary payloads provided by various federal agencies and industry partners, all intended for integrated missile defense system evaluation. The entire flight operation was conducted under the DIU's Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities (HyCAT) program, an initiative prioritizing rapid development cycles to accelerate the assessment of hypersonic systems by leveraging commercial launch providers.

Rocket Lab emphasized the compressed timeline for this endeavor, noting that the mission was contracted and launched in under 14 months, a pace distinct from traditional government acquisition programs that often span years. This commercial agility is considered a core value element for the HyCAT program, which the DIU initiated in early 2023 to address the need for low-cost, high-cadence testing capabilities. Colonel Nicholas Estep, Portfolio Director for Emerging Technologies at the DIU, underscored the strategic importance of the HASTE system, stating that the platform offers the U.S. hypersonic community a means to iterate rapidly and cost-effectively on new technologies. The DIU aims to increase the rate of hypersonic testing to as high as one flight per week.

The success of the Prometheus Run mission highlights the growing reliance on commercial providers for national security testing requirements, paving a path to accelerate the fielding of critical defense capabilities, such as validating systems against high-speed threats equivalent to Mach 22. Brian Rogers, Vice President of Global Launch Services at Rocket Lab, reaffirmed that HASTE is a crucial platform for advancing the nation's hypersonic technological readiness.