10:29 AM EDT, 03/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Rocket Lab USA ( RKLB ) overnight successfully launched a dedicated mission for the National Reconnaissance Office using its Electron launch vehicle, the space services company said on Thursday.

The NROL-123 mission left the company's launch complex in Wallops, Virginia, at 3:25 am ET on Thursday. It was the company's first launch for the spy and space agency from the US after four prior launches from its launch facility on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula beginning in 2020.

Specifics of the new mission were not released but Rocket Lab said it was selected through the NRO's Rapid Acquisition of a Small Rocket program using commercial contractors to launch small satellites.

Rocket Lab shares were nearly 3% higher during Thursday trading.

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