[57] Rocket Lab announced in March 2017 that it had raised an additional US$75 million in a Series D equity round led by Data Collective with participation by Promus Ventures and earlier investors.

[60] In 2018, Rocket Lab began to develop reusable first stage technology,[61] after previously stating publicly that they had no intention of attempting to recover and reuse their launch vehicles.

[62] They disclosed the effort to study the potential recovery of an Electron first stage in August 2019, aiming to use a parachute and mid-air retrieval.

[69] Neutron was planned to be partially reusable with the booster stage performing a Return To Launch Site (RTLS) landing, to be refurbished and relaunched.

[71] The company began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange on 25 August 2021 after merging with SPAC Vector Acquisition at a $4.8 billion valuation.

[91] In January 2024, Rocket Lab became the prime contractor for a $515M USSF military satellite project, the company's largest contract to date.

[101] In November 2024, news reports said the company threatened an academic in New Zealand with a defamation lawsuit for comments that Rocket Lab was involved with US military control over nuclear weapons.

[106] The Rutherford engine uses pumps driven by battery-powered electric motors rather than a gas generator, expander, or preburner.

[111] After reaching an altitude of about 224 kilometres (139 mi), the rocket was performing nominally, but telemetry was lost and flight control destroyed it.

[112][113][114] On 21 January 2018, their second rocket, on a flight named "Still Testing", launched, reached orbit and deployed three CubeSats for customers Planet Labs and Spire Global.

[115] The rocket also carried a satellite payload called Humanity Star, a 1 m-wide (3.3 ft) carbon fiber geodesic sphere made of 65 panels that reflect the Sun's light.

[118] On 4 July 2020, an issue during the second-stage burn of flight 13, named "Pics or It Didn't Happen", caused Electron to fail to get into orbit and its payloads were lost.

[119] On 19 November 2020, a launch mission named "Return to Sender" successfully deployed its payload of 30 small satellites.

[122] However, the rocket failed to place its payload of two BlackSky satellites into orbit after an issue occurred with the second stage.

[123] On 15 September 2022, Rocket Lab launched "The Owl Spreads Its Wings" mission, sending a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite into Earth orbit.

[137] During a question and answer session with space and rocket communicator Scott Manley, Beck indicated a preference to avoid fixed assets such as landing barges.

[69] In March 2022, Rocket Lab announced that Neutron will be manufactured at a facility adjacent to MARS Launch Complex 2.

[38][154] The company advised that should it be encountered by vessels at sea, the payload should not be handled as it was "potentially hazardous" and contained delicate instruments.

[161] Photon first launched in August 2020 on Rocket Lab's I Can't Believe It's Not Optical mission, where it served as a pathfinder.

[165] In February 2020, Rocket Lab was selected by NASA to launch the CAPSTONE (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) on Electron and deploy it to lunar orbit from a Photon spacecraft bus.

[169] As a pathfinder for the Lunar Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA's Artemis program, CAPSTONE will help reduce risk for future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies and verifying the dynamics of this halo-shaped orbit.

[175] In 2012, the company demonstrated a rocket propelled by a viscous liquid monopropellant (VLM) developed via DARPA and Office of Naval Research (NRL) work.

[177] The VLM reportedly required no special handling, was non-toxic, water-soluble, had low sensitivity to shock, a high ignition point, and was barely flammable in atmosphere.

[181][182] The Instant Eyes unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)[183] was designed for military applications requiring a bird's-eye view, much like drones.

[181][186] In October 2024, Rocket Lab was awarded a NASA contract to explore new concepts for a sample return from the surface of Mars.

[192] Manufacturing the carbon composite components of the main flight structure has traditionally required 400 hours, involving extensive hand labor.

[195] In late 2019, Rocket Lab brought a new robotic manufacturing capability online to produce Electron's composite parts in 12 hours.

[197] The process can make all the carbon fiber structures as well as handle cutting, drilling, and sanding such that the parts are ready for final assembly.

[199] In October 2023, Rocket Lab announced it had acquired carbon composite manufacturing facilities, equipment and more than 50 team members from SailGP Technologies in Warkworth, New Zealand.

[218] In December 2019, Rocket Lab began construction of a second pad on Māhia Peninsula named Launch Complex 1B.