Why Rocket Lab Stock Popped 5.5% on Monday

One week ago, space rocket company Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) suffered a tiny setback when a Collision On Launch Avoidance/Assessment (COLA) report warned of collision risk if it launched a set of Kineis satellites as it had planned.

Rocket Lab just waited until the space traffic jam cleared, however, and on Saturday, the "IoT4YouandMe" mission launched successfully, deploying five new satellites for customer Kineis, putting Rocket Lab just one rocket away from completing its contract with Kineis -- and one rocket short of having launched five dozen missions since Rocket Lab's creation.

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Saturday's launch was the fourth of five planned missions for Kineis.

Mission success for our 59th Electron launch 🚀

Five new satellites are now in orbit for @KineisIOT.

That's mission 4 of 5 to build out @KineisIOT's internet-of-things constellation. pic.twitter.com/TOMqH4MzdA

-- Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) February 8, 2025

Rocket Lab stock is up 5.5% through 10:10 a.m. ET Monday morning in response to the news.

Mission success for Rocket Lab's biggest customer

France's Kineis operates Internet of Things (IoT) satellites, used to track and collect data from internet-connected machines all around the globe. With a planned constellation size of 25 and Rocket Lab being its only launcher, it's currently Rocket Lab's biggest customer in terms of number of satellites contracted for launch.

Bigger things ahead for Rocket Lab

Emphasis on "currently." Last week was also notable for Rocket Lab, you see, because of a different contract the company signed with Japan's Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS). Already a Rocket Lab customer, iQPS signed a new contract with Rocket Lab last week for the launch of four one-satellite missions between now and 2026, toward the goal of building a 36-satellite constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites for the customer.

What's the upshot for Rocket Lab? The company's winning more contracts, and from bigger customers, as it proves its power at putting rockets in orbit. While I'm still pretty skeptical of Rocket Lab stock's valuation, it's hard to argue with its success as a space business.

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Rich Smith has positions in Rocket Lab USA. The Motley Fool recommends Rocket Lab USA. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.