{"id":66433,"date":"2026-07-30T16:36:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/66433\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T16:36:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:36:22","slug":"rocket-labs-third-deal-with-japanese-satellite-firm-gets-retail-buzzing-but-rklb-stock-heads-for-worst-ever-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/66433\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab\u2019s Third Deal With Japanese Satellite Firm Gets Retail Buzzing \u2013 But RKLB Stock Heads For Worst Ever Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rocket Lab signed a multi-launch agreement with Japanese satellite company iQPS to launch synthetic aperture radar satellites.\n<\/p>\n

The three new launches are scheduled to begin in late 2027 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.The two companies had signed similar deals in April 2026 and October 2025.The 18-meter-long rocket has completed 91 launches and successfully deployed more than 262 satellites to date.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab (RKLB) stock climbed 4% in pre-market trading on Thursday after the company secured a third deal in nine months with Japanese satellite company iQPS.<\/p>\n

RKLB stock<\/a> is headed for its worst month amid a broader sell-off in the space sector. The shares are down nearly 50% since SpaceX\u2019s listing on June 12.<\/p>\n

The stock is also on track to gain for the first time in three sessions, having shed over 12% of its value in this period.<\/p>\n

RKLB\u2019s Electron Rocket To Launch SAR Satellites<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Rocket Lab signed a new multi-launch agreement with Japanese satellite company iQPS, adding three more dedicated Electron missions to support the expansion of iQPS\u2019s synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Earth-imaging constellation.<\/p>\n

SAR satellites use radio waves rather than visible light, allowing them to capture images day or night and in all weather conditions.<\/p>\n

The latest contract is notable because it is the third multi-launch deal between the two companies following similar deals in April 2026 and October 2025.<\/p>\n

Launches To Begin Late 2027<\/p>\n

The three new launches are scheduled to begin in late 2027 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Each mission will carry one QPS-SAR satellite into a 575-kilometer low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab says Electron is the world\u2019s most frequently launched orbital small rocket. The 18-meter-long rocket has completed 91 launches and successfully deployed more than 262 satellites, including seven QPS-SAR satellites.<\/p>\n

Wall Street Sees Commercial Momentum Building<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab has also been building momentum with large-scale government contracts. Earlier this week, the company secured a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract tied to missile-related launches.<\/p>\n

Adding to the positive sentiment, Citizens on Wednesday reaffirmed its \u2018Market Outperform\u2019 rating and $130 price target, saying Rocket Lab is becoming one of the strongest-positioned companies in the commercial space industry.<\/p>\n

Retail Sees Improving Fundamentals For RKLB<\/p>\n

Retail sentiment surrounding RKLB on Stocktwits remained \u2018neutral\u2019 over the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n

One user said repeat business matters more than one-off contracts.<\/p>\n

Another user said that fundamentals will keep improving, urging investors to \u201chold strong and stay long.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stock has declined more than 22% so far in 2026.<\/p>\n

Also read:\u00a0Capricor\u2019s FDA Fate Divides Wall Street And Investors: One Analyst Sees A $2 Stock But Retail Holds Out Hope<\/a><\/p>\n

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com<\/p>\n

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Read about our editorial guidelines and ethics policy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab signed a multi-launch agreement with Japanese satellite company iQPS to launch synthetic aperture radar satellites. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43342,8,17,43344,43345,43338,43343,43337,43339,43341,43340],"class_list":["post-66433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-iqps-news","tag-japan","tag-japanese","tag-nasa-etf","tag-rklb-price-target","tag-rklb-stock-price","tag-rocket-lab-electron","tag-rocket-lab-japan-deal","tag-rocket-lab-shares","tag-us-pre-market","tag-us-space-stocks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}