RKLB Stock Slips After $700M NASA Snub: Cathie Wood Buys The Dip As Retail Blames Neutron Delays

• NASA selected Blue Origin to build, launch and operate the Mars Telecommunications Network, with the orbiter due by Dec.31, 2028.
• Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management bought 504,799 RKLB shares across three ETFs on Tuesday.
• Neutron’s narrowing 2026 launch window returned to focus following the award.

Shares of Rocket Lab (RKLB) slid 2% overnight late Tuesday after NASA awarded Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin a Mars communications contract worth up to $700 million, adding to retail traders’ tension over recent executive stock sales and whether delays to the company’s Neutron rocket hurt its chances.

RKLB stock fell 2% on Tuesday, marking its second straight loss and its ninth decline in the past 10 sessions. 

Rocket Lab Misses Out On NASA Mars Deal

NASA selected Blue Origin to design, build, launch and operate the Mars Telecommunications Network, which will relay science data, imagery and navigation information for missions operating on and around Mars. The firm-fixed-price contract requires Blue Origin to deliver a high-performance telecommunications orbiter by Dec. 31, 2028. The network is expected to become operational at Mars by 2030.

Eligibility was restricted to U.S. commercial providers that had received NASA funding for a Mars Sample Return design study and proposed a separately launched telecommunications orbiter. Rocket Lab was among the companies that met those conditions.

Rocket Lab Touted Its Mars Credentials

Rocket Lab had detailed a proposed orbiter built on its flight-proven Explorer spacecraft platform, featuring optical communications, an aerosynchronous orbit and vertically integrated components. The company said it could launch aboard Neutron or another medium or heavy-lift rocket. When asked about the procurement on Rocket Lab’s recent earnings call, CEO Peter Beck said he hoped to receive NASA’s decision last month.

“There’s very few folks that can demonstrate the level of capability and experience that we have,” he said. “We feel strongly positioned.” Rocket Lab cited the twin Escapade spacecraft it built for NASA as evidence that it could deliver Mars hardware on a fixed-price contract and compressed schedule. 

NASA Goddard had also awarded the company a separate $390,936 study of end-to-end Mars communications architectures in February. Rocket Lab built the Escapade spacecraft, while Blue Origin launched them aboard New Glenn in November 2025. They are expected to reach Mars in September 2027.

Rocket Lab’s Neutron Faces More Delays

The NASA decision renewed attention on Neutron, whose inaugural launch has repeatedly moved since Rocket Lab unveiled the reusable medium-lift rocket in 2021 with an initial 2024 target. Beck said last month that Neutron is on track for delivery to its Virginia launch pad in the fourth quarter, but acknowledged that “the window for an end-of-year launch is narrowing.” The company must still complete integrated testing, a wet dress rehearsal and a first-stage static fire.

Cathie Wood Loads Up On RKLB

ARK Investment Management purchased 504,799 RKLB shares across three ETFs on Tuesday. The flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) bought 420,602 shares, while the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) and ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX) added 60,164 and 24,033 shares, respectively.

At Rocket Lab’s Tuesday price, the purchases were worth about $31.6 million. ARK had bought another 200,303 shares through its flagship fund on Monday for about $12.8 million, bringing its two-day purchases to 705,102 shares.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About RKLB?

On Stocktwits, sentiment for RKLB slipped further within the ‘bearish’ territory (40/100) amid a 20% rise in 24-hour message volumes after some users alleged that the recent executive sales was due to advance knowledge of the Blue Origin win.

“The constant downward pressure for the past two weeks finally makes sense,” one user said, alleging that insiders “for sure knew” the outcome. However, regulatory filings showed that the transactions occurred automatically under Rule 10b5-1 plans adopted on Sept. 19, 2025. 

Last week, COO Frank Klein sold 35,558 shares for about $2.37 million, retaining 925,737 shares. General Counsel Arjun Kampani sold 6,034 shares for $402,186 and continued to hold 250,917 shares.

Other traders blamed Neutron’s delays. “Taking this long for Neutron has consequences,” one user said, claiming Blue Origin secured the contract “because of the delays.” Meanwhile, another user was hopeful that Rocket Lab could supply services to the network despite being “pretty disappointed” by the outcome.

RKLB stock has risen 29% over the past year. 

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