According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Rocket Lab (RKLB.US), known as a "rival to SpaceX," announced on Tuesday Eastern Time that it successfully launched a suborbital flight mission in November to test and advance a defense hypersonic technology for the USA Department of Defense. Rocket Lab's stock has surged significantly since November, with an increase of up to 117%, driven mainly by stronger-than-expected third-quarter financial performance and the acquisition of military contracts from the federal government as well as NASA contracts. The "SpaceX frenzy" following Trump's victory is also contributing to the surge in the company's stock price.

Hypersonic technology refers to aircraft and systems capable of traveling at speeds exceeding Mach 5 or up to "five times the speed of sound." These systems operate at unique aerodynamic conditions with core features including extreme temperatures, thin shock layers, and complex airflow.

Rocket Lab's mission provides hypersonic testing launch capabilities under the "Multi-Service Advanced Capabilities Hypersonic Testbed" project, which aims to enhance the hypersonic flight testing missions of the USA military. The project is awarded by the USA Department of Defense's Test Resource Management Center, represented by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, through strategic and spectrum mission advanced resilient credible systems or other authorized Trade tools.

Notably, Rocket Lab's testing platform showcases a new set of cutting-edge launch technologies, significantly optimized for hypersonic technology testing, greatly enhancing payload capacity. The company also designs, manufactures, assembles, and integrates experimental hypersonic flight instruments, and conducted a trial launch during this mission, although the timeline was very tight.

Rocket Lab is accelerating the development of the Neutron rocket, a medium-sized rocket expected to offer greater payload capacity than the Electron rocket. The Neutron rocket is designed for supersonic flight capabilities and plans to employ reusable technology, similar to SpaceX's Falcon 9. The goal of Neutron is to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9, providing larger scale satellite launch services and other deep space missions. However, the Neutron rocket is still in the development stage and has not yet been put into commercial use.

Rocket Lab's Neutron is designed to be reusable, aimed at meeting the growing demand for satellite launches, and competes with SpaceX rockets, making it one of SpaceX's strong competitors. Although specific technical details have not been fully disclosed, Rocket Lab states that Neutron will employ advanced propulsion technology to ensure it can achieve supersonic speeds during launch.

In contrast, SpaceX has more significant technological breakthroughs and applications in the field of supersonic flight. SpaceX not only possesses mature heavy rocket technology but has also achieved many breakthroughs in supersonic flight and space missions. SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are outstanding representatives of supersonic flight, capable of delivering satellites and cargo into orbit at extremely high speeds. Especially in heavy payload launch missions, SpaceX has demonstrated world-class supersonic flight capabilities. The design and technology of these rockets encompass multiple key challenges in supersonic flight, such as efficient combustion, high-speed orbital insertion, and the eventual recovery of the rocket.