Rocket Lab Launches Electron for US Space Force Victus Haze Mission

A Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle lifted off at 3:19 a.m. PT on June 19, 2026, from Launch Complex-1 in Mahia, New Zealand, for the US Space Force Victus Haze mission. The launch marked completion of the first threshold-setting missions under the demonstration.

Rocket Lab and True Anomaly will now perform several sets of maneuvers over the next six months. The spacecraft will trade roles as chaser and chased during rendezvous and proximity operations. The primary goal is to demonstrate surveillance of a target satellite, though the operations could also support refueling or on-orbit combat tasks.

Victus Haze is the second demonstration planned under the Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Space program. The first mission, Victus Nox, launched in September 2023 when Firefly Aerospace placed a maneuverable vehicle built by Boeing’s Millennium Space Systems into orbit.

Even Rogers, founder and CEO of True Anomaly, said the companies will take turns practicing tactics and operational concepts for dealing with on-orbit threats.

“We change, we switch roles, but we don’t have a designated role, it just depends on the mission we’re doing,” he stated. The Space Force has provided objectives and boundaries, but the on-orbit gameplay remains unscripted. Brian Rogers, Rocket Lab’s vice president of global launch services, said Victus Haze differs from most prior demonstrations because it avoids highly scripted maneuvers with cooperative satellites.