It’s a beautiful day to set sail with the next pieces of Neutron flight hardware to Launch Complex 3. Earlier today we sent Neutron’s Stage 2 and Thrust Module out of the Neutron Factory and onto a barge for transport through Chesapeake Bay to Wallops Island in Virginia. Once it arrives, the Thrust Module will go straight onto the launch mount at LC-3 for check outs and the beginning of wider systems demonstrations including integrated fluids tests and module-to-launch-mount interface checkouts. With no strongback on the launch mount by design, Neutron’s Thrust Module is the rocket’s only physical interface to the launch pad, which this upcoming test campaign enables us to test early before the entire vehicle comes together.

The Neutron team hit some big milestones this week, working around the clock to bring the world's largest carbon composite reusable rocket to life. Take a look inside our Neutron Factory in Maryland 👇

We have completed breakover operations for the Neutron Stage 2 tank assembly, rotating the stage horizontal – a critical step in the handling of large rocket sections for integration and assembly. Here’s a last look at Stage 2 on the Neutron Factory floor before it’s wrapped up (literally) for barge shipment to LC-3 on Wallops Island where its fluid systems will be tested and its Archimedes vacuum engine installed.

The first multi-spacecraft science mission to Mars is about to make its big move. Next month, Blue and Gold – the twin spacecraft we built for @NASA and @ucbssl – will swing close past Earth and each fire their main engine in a single, continuous burn, using Earth's gravity to amplify the burn as they set course for Mars. It's a maneuver that's never been successfully done before. Our mission ops team is in full rehearsal mode for @escapade_mars' trans-Mars injection. Learn more about ESCAPADE: rocketlabcorp.com/missions/e…

Production of the new carbon composite forward dome for Neutron’s Stage 1 propellant tank is underway. Our automated fiber placement (AFP) machine follows a computer-controlled course to lay down thousands of strands of carbon fiber - each thinner than a human hair - at speeds of up to 100 meters per minute to create Stage 1’s structures on custom molds. Once the AFP machine is finished with the new forward dome it will be rolled out, inspected, then prepared for the curing process to harden the carbon composite.