Rocket Lab USA, an aerospace company based in Long Beach, will open a new manufacturing facility in Middle River, Maryland.
The dedicated product development and production complex, which Rocket Lab announced last week, will support the company’s efforts to expand its delivery of composite products to its customers and for Rocket Lab’s own internal needs, the announcement said.
Rocket Lab’s Space Structures Complex will be built in a 113,000 square-foot facility in Middle River, which was previously Lockheed Martin’s Vertical Launch Building. The facility has been used in the aerospace industry since 1929.
The company will develop and manufacture carbon composite spacecraft buses, structural panels and assemblies, satellite dispensers, heat shields, launch structures, and more at the new complex, the company said.
The facility will also serve a key function in developing carbon composite structures for Rocket Lab’s new medium-lift launch vehicle, dubbed the Neutron — which is the successor to the Electron, the world’s only reusable orbital-class small rocket that is powered by a 3D-printed engine, according to the company’s website.
Composite development and manufacturing will also continue at Rocket Lab’s other facilities, including in Long Beach and in New Zealand, the company said.
The new Maryland complex, though, is an important addition to the company, last week’s announcement said, as it enables Rocket Lab to expand its operations closer to its ongoing test complex at Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, which is home to production and launch facilities for its Neutron and Electron rockets.
“We have the experienced team, manufacturing and test equipment, established supply chain, and heritage to deliver reliable composite products to the space industry at scale,” Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said. “And because we’re deeply vertically integrated, we can do it fast and at competitive prices. We’re incredibly excited to bring advanced Rocket Lab composite products to market for our customers.”
The Space Structure Complex will be Rocket Lab’s second facility in Maryland; the company already has an existing and separate facility for satellite separation systems and CubeSat dispensers, the Friday, Nov. 17, announcement said.
The Maryland Department of Commerce, meanwhile, has given Rocket Lab a $1.56 million repayable loan to help the company open the new complex.
“We are excited to support Rocket Lab in expanding Maryland’s efforts in the space industry,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said in the announcement. “Renovating this significant Baltimore County site and creating dozens of new jobs will stimulate opportunity for the region, and we are certain that this new Rocket Lab location will become a prominent and successful facility in the state.”
Rocket Lab has yet to set a date for the Space Structure Complex’s opening, the company’s senior communications director, Morgan Bailey, said in a Tuesday, Nov. 21, email.
Rocket Lab, though, also recently celebrated the opening of a new 144,000 square-foot Engine Development Center in Long Beach, at the former headquarters of the now-defunct Virgin Orbit.
The company paid $16.1 million to take over Virgin Orbit’s lease at 4022 Conant St. in May, shortly after Virgin Orbit declared bankruptcy and laid off the majority of its workers.
The Engine Development Center, Rocket Lab said previously, was opened to scale up production of its 3D-printed Rutherford engine and the development of a new engine called Archimedes, which will eventually be used to power the Neutron rocket.
Rocket Lab said it planned to bring on 120 new local employees with the Engine Development Center’s opening.