After launching DARPA's Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration (R3D2) satellite March 28 on its first mission of the year, Rocket Lab will carry three satellites for the U.S. Air Force when it conducts its next Electron launch in late April. The mission, announced April 3, will place three smallsats with a combined mass of more than 180 kilograms into orbit for the Defense Department's Space Test Program in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit. Designated STP-27RD by the Space Test Program, the mission is the first for the new Rapid Agile Launch Initiative, an effort to procure launches from "nontraditional, venture-class companies," according to the Air Force. The program has also awarded a contract to Vox Space, the government services arm of Virgin Orbit, with three more launches planned this year.
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