Rocket Lab to launch hypersonic test vehicle for the Defense Innovation Unit

WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab announced a new mission for its suborbital launch vehicle — a 3D-printed hypersonic drone built by Australia’s Hypersonix for the U.S. Defense Department.

The mission, projected for early 2025, is funded by DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit. DIU, based in Silicon Valley, works with commercial space companies to help fill military technology needs. The suborbital mission awarded to Rocket Lab is part of DIU’s HyCat project, short for hypersonic and high-cadence testing capabilities.

DIU’s payload will be scramjet-powered hypersonic vehicle made by the Australian company Hypersonix. The 660-pound drone is about 9.8-foot-long and has a 3D-printed airframe.

“The HyCat mission will demonstrate HASTE’s ‘direct inject’ capability by deploying the Hypersonix payload during ascent, while still within Earth’s atmosphere,” said Rocket Lab.