Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska on Kodiak Island could see up to 18 government launches over the next two years. That’s after the U.S. Air Force recently awarded a $266 million contract with Rocket Lab out of California for at least a dozen suborbital launches at the Narrow Cape facility.
The Department of Defense announced the contract last week on July 21. It calls for at least 12 suborbital launches with the option for six more by the end of 2028. Although the announcement did not provide additional details about the launches, Murielle Baker, a spokesperson for Rocket Lab, told KMXT via email that they will be used for missile defense tests.
Alaska Aerospace Corporation’s CEO and President John Oberst told the Kodiak Daily Mirror that the spaceport is building a dedicated launch pad for Rocket Lab’s launches. The spaceport already has six pads and is using millions of dollars of federal funding it was awarded earlier this year to upgrade its facilities, with the goal of attracting more private and government contractors.
It also recently expanded its footprint at Narrow Cape by roughly 140 acres after purchasing land from the Burton family earlier this year.
In an email, Baker with Rocket Lab said Alaska, “opens up more trajectories under operational conditions that can’t be replicated anywhere else.”
Rep. Nick Begich III said in an email that the military contract at Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska is a, "clear vote of confidence in the strategic advantages our state brings to America's space and defense missions."
Alaska Aerospace has worked with Rocket Lab in the past, using its mobile equipment for range safety and telemetry system to help the commercial company with its first 10 launches. According to Oberst, Alaska Aerospace was part of the reason Rocket Lab got off the ground at its facility in New Zealand years ago.
Alaska Aerospace Corporation owns and operates the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska at Narrow Cape, which is one of only four orbital vertical rocket launch sites in the country. The other three are Cape Canaveral in Florida, Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and SpaceX Starbase in Texas.
