The US Defense Department's Office of Strategic Capital has recently announced three loans totaling $450 million to US space firms. The latest, $150 million to Rocket Lab, is meant to raise the flight rate of its reusable Neutron rocket after its first launch, which has slipped to next year.
Another $150 million loan went on October 26 to Stoke Space, to build a second launch pad at Cape Canaveral for its reusable Nova rocket, whose first launch is planned for March 2027. According to Breaking Defense, the two loans reflect Pentagon concern about a launch gap after 2028, when SpaceX stops flying commercial payloads on Falcon 9. A Quilty Space report estimated a shortfall of at least 150 launches through 2030.
The third loan, $150 million to LeoLabs, is meant to speed deployment of its tracking radars, including the new Scout mobile radar, and expand production, with two large plants by 2028. According to an industry source, the Pentagon had to finalize the loans by the end of the fiscal year, which is why they are being announced one after another.