Elon Musk’s SpaceX has dominated conversations about space exploration for the last two decades, garnering more headlines than rival Blue Origin and, at times, even NASA. 

But now there is another competitor on the scene: Rocket Lab Corporation.

Rocket Lab, a “launch service provider,” was founded in 2006 in New Zealand and now has a headquarters in Southern California.

The company’s sudden ascent is turning heads far beyond Wall Street.

Every mile SpaceX has traveled since its founding in 2002 has been breathlessly reported, in large part because of Musk’s mercurial persona and ability to promote himself and his companies.

But going forward, SpaceX may not have the headlines all to itself. 

Morgan Stanley’s October 2025 upgrade of Rocket Lab is a fresh windfall for shareholders and a signal that Musk’s era of uncontested orbital dominance may finally be facing a genuine challenge.​

Editorial: rocket rivalry heats up in the cosmos

When Morgan Stanley quadrupled its price target for Rocket Lab and dubbed it “an alternative to SpaceX,” the space launch sector awoke to a hint of showdown — a classic underdog narrative poised against the reigning king.

Rocket Lab’s shares are surging, as reported in Seeking Alpha.

The move was propelled by bold investor faith that the company’s Neutron rocket could nudge Musk’s Falcon 9 off its pedestal, or at least make him sweat. 

Rocket Lab reported $104 million in Q2 revenue, up 43% year over year.

Sir Peter Beck, CEO and founder, Rocket Lab Corporation

For years, SpaceX has set the terms: reusable rockets, lower costs, frequent launches. Now, Rocket Lab brings similar innovations and reimagines what it means to be nimble.

Rocket Lab has a productive relationship with NASA, collaborating on a number of products, including the launch of satellites used to monitor tropical cyclones. 

Elon Musk and the pressure on SpaceX

Elon Musk is notorious for burning the midnight oil and defying conventional business wisdom. SpaceX, the company he steered from near bankruptcy to a $400 billion valuation, remains both revered and occasionally resented for its “move fast, break things, then fix them in public” ethos. 

Musk has weathered everything from rocket explosions to regulatory headaches — and often emerges unfazed, sometimes even joking about “rapid unscheduled disassemblies” as just another step toward Mars.

But these days, the landscape Musk faces is more fragmented and competitive than ever.​

Related: The good news behind SpaceX’s massive Starlink outage

SpaceX’s Starship, for instance, has captured global attention with chaotic test flights and big talk about lunar and even mars landings. Yet repeated setbacks — explosions, environmental lawsuits, and mounting NASA scrutiny — have underscored the real risks of moving at Musk speed. 

Beyond technical drama, SpaceX’s expansion invites both admiration and skepticism. Musk, never afraid to mock rivals or regulators on X, finds himself in the crosshairs not only of journalists, but also of environmental groups and rivals, who see SpaceX’s dominance as overreach.​

Rocket Lab’s growing confidence

Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck doesn’t trade memes with Musk, but he does trade muscle. By focusing on engineering agility, cost discipline, and actual customer needs, Beck’s team has delivered over 70 missions with a reliability rate second only to SpaceX. 

The upcoming Neutron rocket, designed to rival Falcon 9’s reusability and price, isn’t just a technical leap — it’s a statement that the “Silicon Valley of Space” is expanding from one maverick to many.​

Morgan Stanley’s bullish call suggests that, for the first time, investors are treating Rocket Lab and SpaceX as near equals. That’s a seismic shift. 

Related: Elon Musk makes a shocking $1 billion purchase

One of Rocket Lab’s proposed major projects, the Golden Dome, is a layered defense network designed to intercept ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles using a combination of space-based and ground-based interceptors.

Rocket Lab is positioning itself to be a key supplier for this project by providing components like its hypersonic testing capabilities, space-based sensors, and launch services.

“The $175 billion Golden Dome program could prove to be one of DoD’s largest procurements to date,” CEO Peter Beck said on the company’s most recent earnings call.

“And we’re in a great position to capitalise on opportunities here as strategic investment. And the way that we’ve scaled the company to uniquely meet its needs positions us strongly to win either as a prime contractor or even as a sub or even as a component supplier.”

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