Another ticket skipping! Rocket Lab (RKLB.US) Neutron rocket's first flight was postponed to 2027, and the stock price fell more than 9% after the market

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Rocket Lab Corp. (RKLB.US) has once again postponed the first flight plan for its new high-thrust rocket, Neutron, and delayed the first launch of the rocket until 2027.

This is the latest in a series of delays for the Neutron project. Approaching the launch preparation stage, the company discovered a new problem in the rocket fuel tank manufacturing process, which caused this delay.

“I said before, we won't take unnecessary risks to rush the launch. “R&D projects like Neutron are already full of challenges,” said Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck in a video explaining this new delay. “We recently faced such a problem, which also delayed Neutron's first flight until next year.”

Affected by this news, Rocket Lab's stock price fell more than 9% after the market. Prior to the announcement on Wednesday, its stock price had already fallen by a cumulative total of about 15% this year.

According to information, Rocket Lab had previously planned to complete the first launch of Neutron by the end of 2026. However, the company hinted in August that it would be quite challenging for the rocket to make its first flight this year.

Rocket Lab currently mainly operates a rocket called Electron, which focuses on launching small satellites into orbit. Neutron, on the other hand, is positioned as a launch vehicle with greatly upgraded performance, which can carry heavier loads and compete more directly with the Falcon 9 (Falcon 9) rocket, which is dominated by SpaceX (SPCX.US).

Neutron has been delayed many times during the development cycle. When Rocket Lab first announced the rocket plan in 2021, it planned to complete the first flight in 2024; however, the launch was delayed over and over again, first until 2025, and then until this year.

However, 2026 will continue to have its ups and downs for Neutron R&D. In January of this year, a Neutron propellant tank broke during testing. The company said the accident was due to a product defect caused by a third-party manufacturer. After the incident, the company changed a new manufacturing process and revised part of the design, but a new problem occurred: bubbles were generated inside the tank lid.

Beck pointed out that the team has successfully reproduced the fault and added a new process to the production process to prevent bubbles from occurring again. However, it took a lot of time to investigate the fault and implement the repair plan, which ultimately delayed the launch until next year.