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Rocket Lab HASTE hypersonic test at Wallops
Rocket Lab will launch a modified Electron for a HASTE hypersonic test on September 29, 2025.
The flight is scheduled to lift off from Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, at 11:45 PM UTC on September 29, 2025. The suborbital mission is part of the Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) program and uses Rocket Lab’s small-launch vehicle, the Electron, in a modified configuration.
The mission—publicly tied to a classified U.S. government effort codenamed JUSTIN—aims to validate hypersonic flight technologies and gather data to support defense research and development across federal agencies. Rocket Lab is operating the launch and providing the vehicle and range support at Wallops.
What Rocket Lab will test
HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) is designed to stress components and collect flight telemetry during hypersonic conditions. While many details of the JUSTIN mission remain classified, officials have said the HASTE architecture lets teams fly at high Mach numbers on a shorter timeline and lower cost than full-scale hypersonic vehicles.
- Rocket Lab will perform a single suborbital HASTE test using a modified Electron from Wallops on September 29, 2025.
Launch windows for suborbital military-support missions can be narrow; the 11:45 PM UTC liftoff time reflects coordination with range safety, tracking assets, and downstream telemetry collection. Observers in the Mid-Atlantic region may see the ascent plume and sonic signatures if weather and optics align.
Although technical specifics and payloads are restricted, the flight is another example of commercial launch providers supporting rapid hypersonic flight validation for U.S. defense programs, leveraging smaller rockets like Electron for targeted test campaigns.
