Rocket Lab received a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract, its largest agreement to date, for up to 18 suborbital launches that will support missile defense capabilities.

火箭实验室获得了一份价值2.66亿美元的美国太空军合同，这是该公司迄今达成的最大规模协议，合同内容涉及最多18次亚轨道发射任务，将为导弹防御能力提供支持。

Under the contract, the space company, which provides launch services, spacecraft, payloads and satellite components, on Monday said it will perform 12 suborbital launches, with up to six additional launches, the first of which is set to take place by the end of 2026.

根据该合同，这家提供发射服务、航天器、有效载荷和卫星组件的太空公司于周一表示，将执行12次亚轨道发射任务，并可选择额外增加最多6次，其中首次发射定于2026年底前进行。

Most of the launches will take place from a new company location at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska in Kodiak, Alaska. It also has two other launch sites, in Virginia and New Zealand.

大部分发射将在该公司位于阿拉斯加州科迪亚克岛太平洋太空港综合设施-阿拉斯加的新址进行。 该公司还在弗吉尼亚州和新西兰设有另外两个发射场。

Established in December 2019, the U.S. Space Force is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. The branch is responsible for conducting global space operations and protect U.S. and allied interests in space.

美国太空军成立于2019年12月，是美国武装部队的太空军种。 该军种负责开展全球太空行动，并保护美国及其盟友在太空中的利益。

"The size and scale of this contract reflects the Space Force's confidence in our ability to meet their urgent national security demands with speed, responsiveness, and scale, and we're proud to provide the high-frequency launch capacity required to keep the U.S. ahead of global threats," Rocket Lab Chief Executive Sir Peter Beck said.

火箭实验室首席执行官彼得·贝克爵士表示：“这份合同的规模和体量反映了太空军对我们能力的信任，相信我们能够以速度、响应能力和规模化来满足其紧迫的国家安全需求，我们很自豪能够提供所需的高频发射能力，使美国在全球威胁面前保持领先地位。”

Rocket Lab got its start as a launch provider two decades ago but has been acquiring businesses tied to satellite production and operations in recent years, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

据《华尔街日报》此前报道，火箭实验室二十年前以发射服务提供商起家，但近年来一直在收购与卫星生产和运营相关的企业。

The space firm is one of only a handful in the world that can launch rockets into orbit and has launched 88 small-payload rockets mostly into low-Earth orbit, the Journal said.

据《华尔街日报》报道，这家太空公司是全球少数几家能够将火箭送入轨道的企业之一，目前已发射了88枚小型有效载荷火箭，大部分送入近地轨道。

Rocket Lab's small-sized rockets is appealing to militaries that sometimes need to get spy satellites into space quickly, The Journal said.

据《华尔街日报》报道，火箭实验室的小型火箭对军方具有吸引力，因为军方有时需要快速将间谍卫星送入太空。

In March, Rocket Lab secured a $190 million contract from the Pentagon to help test hypersonic flight conditions using its smaller Electron rockets. The company is also working with defense contractor RTX on the U.S.'s Golden Dome, a space-based missile-defense shield.

今年3月，火箭实验室从五角大楼获得了一份价值1.9亿美元的合同，用于利用其较小的“电子”号火箭协助测试高超音速飞行条件。 该公司还与国防承包商雷神技术公司合作，参与美国“金穹”太空反导防御系统项目。

Last month, Rocket Lab agreed to buy Iridium Communications, a move that would give it control over a satellite fleet and access to wireless resources it could use to compete with SpaceX.

上个月，火箭实验室同意收购铱星通信公司，此举将使其获得一支卫星编队的控制权，并获取无线电资源，从而能够与太空探索技术公司展开竞争。