Rocket Lab, Synspective and the art of the multi-launch deal

A key challenge for any launch company, especially small ones, is maintaining a steady cadence of orders and launches. A solid order flow keeps the factory running smoothly and profitably. A gap in orders inevitably creates challenges for the workforce, suppliers, and profitability.

Rocket Lab, the industry’s leading small launch provider, has been uniquely successful in securing multi-launch agreements as a means of avoiding production troughs. Since 2021, Rocket Lab has secured an industry record six (6) multi-launch agreements ranging from three to five missions. Rocket Lab’s most recent deal, with Japanese SAR operator Synspective, was also its largest, at 10 launch missions.

Rocket Lab’s success at securing these multi-launch agreements is especially impressive given the need to compete against SpaceX’s Transporter rideshare missions. Announced in 2019, Transporter was originally positioned as a quarterly rideshare mission to an SSO orbit, but SpaceX recently added twice-per-year launches to high-inclination orbits (Bandwagon). Since launching the program, SpaceX has completed 11 rideshare missions (10 Transporter, one Bandwagon), launching 823 of satellites at a list price of $5,500-6,500 per kilogram, the industry’s cheapest launch to LEO by a wide margin.

Fortunately, price isn’t the sole determinant in selecting a launch provider. Depending on the operator, schedule, reputation (i.e., reliability), and the ability to launch to unique orbits can often rank higher than price. Several of Rocket Lab’s customers have cited the ability to access less popular orbits as a reason for ordering Electron. This is especially important for customers that operate constellations of 50 or less satellites. These smaller LEO constellations must rely on the precise placement of satellites rather than sheer numbers to achieve their desired coverage.

Speaking of which, two days after signing the Synspective deal, Rocket Lab launched five ~30 kg satellites for the French IoT operator Kinéis, which had also signed a five-launch deal. In a 2021 interview, Kinéis CEO Alexandre Tisserant said the company needed precise orbits and that using a rideshare service would have required so much more fuel it would have forced a redesign of the spacecraft. That’s plenty of reason to fly a bespoke mission on Electron.

SOURCE: https://synspective.com/press-release/2024/launch-agreement-rocketlab/