Rocket Lab is targeting mid-2025 for the debut of its partially reusable Neutron rocket, with commercial launches to start in 2026.

The company anticipates building from one Neutron flight in 2025 to three in 2026 and then five in 2027, Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said during a Nov. 12 earnings call about the company’s third-quarter financial results. The company then plans to scale up to seven launches and beyond in subsequent years.

Rocket Lab — which has been launching small satellites with its 59-foot-tall (18 meters) Electron rocket since 2018 — has made significant progress recently on Neutron hardware and securing customers, according to Beck. “We’re well past the design phase now and deep into the qualification testing of our large-scale flight hardware,” he said.

Progress has been made on the “Hungry Hippo” nose cone, which has entered mechanical testing, while the rocket’s second stage has undergone a successful fueling test, known as a wet dress rehearsal. And Neutron’s new Archimedes engine has achieved milestones, including over 100% throttle level tests, with production ramping up at the company’s California assembly line.

There is also movement on the rocket’s launch pad, with Launch Complex 3 at Wallops Island in Virginia nearing completion with key installations, including propellant tanks and a 165-ton steel launch mount.

The 141-foot-tall (43 m) Neutron is designed to launch up to 28,660 pounds (13,000 kilograms) to low Earth orbit. The rocket’s reusable first stage is powered by nine Archimedes engines, which run on liquid methane and liquid oxygen in an oxidizer-rich closed cycle.

Beck stated that, during 2024’s third quarter, the company had made “key achievements, including the signing of a multi-launch deal for Neutron with a commercial constellation operator.” The undisclosed client has booked two missions for 2026, with a potential for further future launches.

Neutron’s first test flight in 2025 will not generate revenue, but the company is exploring opportunities to offset costs through partnerships.

Rocket Lab is targeting the medium-lift market with Neutron, and aims to ease a bottleneck in launch capacity, which Beck says amounts to a U.S. national security risk.