Overview
- Rocket Lab publicly unveiled GHOST on Aug. 10–11 and said the first deployment will create Launch Complex 4 at Kodiak Island with two pads and an operational suborbital debut targeted for 2027.
- GHOST packages rockets, launch pads, ground‑support hardware and range‑control systems into standard shipping containers so a complete launch capability can be moved and reassembled at new sites.
- The system is built to support both the Electron orbital launcher and the HASTE suborbital hypersonic test vehicle so one installation can host satellite launches or high‑speed test flights.
- Rocket Lab tied the Alaska buildout to a large U.S. Space Force suborbital contract reported at $266 million and said GHOST is aimed at missile‑defense testing and sovereign allied access, but deployments will still require site preparation, licensing, range safety and airspace or maritime coordination.
- Kodiak’s two pads would expand Rocket Lab’s network to six pads across two hemispheres and could give the Pentagon and allies more flexible flight paths and dispersed testing options while reducing the need for permanent concrete infrastructure.