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US Space Force demonstrates responsive launch for VICTUS HAZE mission, begins on-orbit operations

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U.S. Space Force’s (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) has demonstrated a Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) launch capability with the liftoff of Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle from the company’s Launch Complex-1 (LC-1) in New Zealand on June 19, 2026, as part of the TacRS VICTUS HAZE mission. The mission will now transition into an on-orbit focus placing operationally relevant systems through realistic rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) threat response scenarios.

With launch complete, the team will now complete on-orbit checkout and vehicle commissioning, after which RPO operations begin. During these operations, the teams operating both the Rocket Lab and the True Anomaly space vehicles will conduct a variety of scenarios, demonstrating Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and characterization capabilities, each in dynamic engagements with the other.

SSC’s System Delta 89 (SYD 89) Space Safari office, under Space Force Program Executive Officer (SFPEO) for Space Combat Power (SCP), is the lead organization executing TacRS missions.

“We are excited to demonstrate advanced TacRS capabilities on orbit,” said USSF Lt. Col. Lincoln Miller, Space Safari system program manager. “VICTUS HAZE culminates the TacRS ‘crawl, walk, run’ phase of on-orbit demonstrations. We are confident in the technology and space operations expertise of our teams who have paved the way for rapid capability delivery to orbit in support of urgent operational needs.”

VICTUS HAZE is a multi-launch, multi-vehicle mission designed to demonstrate the Nation’s capability to rapidly acquire, launch, and operate space vehicles on operationally relevant timelines in response to urgent on-orbit threats. Additionally, VICTUS HAZE leverages commercially developed products to provide highly capable options for future TacRS missions.

“VICTUS HAZE set out to demonstrate our ability to respond to irresponsible behavior on orbit under operationally realistic conditions, and we are doing just that, leveraging commercial partnerships to maximize flexibility and minimize cost,” said USSF Col. Bryon McClain, acting Space Force portfolio acquisition executive (PAE) for Space Combat Power.

This was the second of two launches within the VICTUS HAZE mission, delivering Rocket Lab’s company-built response space vehicle to low-Earth orbit (LEO), which will now rendezvous with another VICTUS HAZE space vehicle already on orbit. This second space vehicle is True Anomaly’s Jackal, which was launched as part of a rideshare on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., on May 3, 2026.

Prior to this launch, the Space Safari office placed the Rocket Lab team into a heightened state of readiness before directing them to activate into an alert status. The activation process took less than 48 hours. After a period of time, Rocket Lab was issued the Notice-to-Launch (NTL) order which required them to posture for launch to a previously unknown orbit within their performance ability with only a 24-hour notice.

“Not only does this mission open the door for acquisition of follow-on vehicles that allow our warfighters to close critical gaps and seams in a conflict scenario, it also presents a more immediate value by giving our current operators a crucial opportunity to exercise and improve LEO RPO tactics, techniques, and procedures,” Miller said.

Space Safari’s acquisition efforts for this mission established a groundwork that enables rapid production and fielding of follow-on vehicles from either Rocket Lab or True Anomaly. The success of these efforts bolsters the defense industrial base with two providers that are now capable of responsive RPO missions and postures the USSF and U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) with additional options that may be necessary to deter adversary aggression on orbit and maintain security of National interests at all times.

“The United States has the most innovative space industry in the world,” McClain said. “VICTUS HAZE is primed to further demonstrate our readiness to lean on our commercial partners to deny, disrupt, and counter any adversarial advantage—no matter where they try to operate in space.”

The VICTUS HAZE mission is the result of multi-organization efforts across federal agencies and the defense industrial base. Some of these partnerships include:
 
  • A DIU partnership on the Rocket Lab effort to leverage their commercial market expertise alongside their Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) and Other Transaction Authority to rapidly award.  
  • A SpaceWERX partnership on the True Anomaly effort to award a Strategic Funds Increase (STRATFI) allowing for a second end-to-end system that improved overall mission utility and benefit.
  • An advanced Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) optical payload hosted on the Rocket Lab space vehicle.
  • A partnership with the Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Tools, Application, and Processing (TAP) Lab under SSC’s System Delta 85 (SYD 85).
  • A partnership with the Aerospace Corporation.

SSC is the USSF field command responsible for acquiring, developing, and delivering resilient capabilities to outpace emerging threats and protect our Nation’s strategic advantage in, from, and to space. SSC manages a $15.6 billion annual space acquisition budget for the Department of War, working with joint forces, industry partners, government agencies, academia, and allied nations. For more information, visit ssc.spaceforce.mil.

Media representatives can submit questions for response regarding this topic by sending an e-mail to sscpa.media@spaceforce.mil
 

 

 

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