Rocket Lab Corp (RKLB) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Bailey, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Rocket Lab third quarter 2024 fiscal results update and conference call. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝你的支持。我叫貝利，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。此時，我歡迎大家參加 Rocket Lab 2024 年第三季財務業績更新和電話會議。（操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the call over to Murielle Baker, Senior Communications Manager at Rocket Lab. You may begin.

我現在想將電話轉給 Rocket Lab 資深通訊經理 Murielle Baker。你可以開始了。

Thank you. Hello, and welcome to today's conference call to discuss Rocket Lab's third quarter 2024 financial results.

謝謝。您好，歡迎參加今天的電話會議，討論 Rocket Lab 2024 年第三季的財務表現。

Now before we begin the call, I'd like to remind you that our remarks may contain forward-looking statements that relate to the future performance of the company, and these statements are intended to qualify for the safe harbor protection from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.

現在，在我們開始通話之前，我想提醒您，我們的言論可能包含與公司未來業績相關的前瞻性陳述，這些陳述旨在有資格獲得由公司建立的免責責任的安全港保護。法。

Any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and factors that could influence our results are highlighted in today's press release, and others are contained in our filings with the Security and Exchange Commission. Such statements are based upon information available to the company as of the date hereof and are subject to change for future developments. Except as required by law, the company does not undertake any obligation to update these statements.

任何此類聲明都不能保證未來的業績，今天的新聞稿中強調了可能影響我們業績的因素，其他因素也包含在我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中。此類聲明基於截至本協議發布之日公司可獲得的信息，並可能因未來發展而發生變化。除法律要求外，本公司不承擔任何更新這些聲明的義務。

Our remarks and press release today also contain non-GAAP financial measures within the meaning of Regulation G enacted by the SEC. Included in such release and our supplemental materials are reconciliations of these historical non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

我們今天的言論和新聞稿還包含 SEC 頒布的 G 條例含義內的非 GAAP 財務措施。此類新聞稿和我們的補充資料中包含這些歷史非 GAAP 財務指標與根據 GAAP 計算的可比較財務指標的調整表。

Now this call is also being webcast with a supporting presentation and a replay and copy of the presentation will be available on our website.

現在，該電話會議也正在進行網路直播，並附有支援性演示文稿，並且我們的網站上將提供演示文稿的重播和副本。

Our speakers today are Rocket Lab Founder and Chief Executive Officer, sir Peter Beck; as well as Chief Financial Officer, Adam Spice. They will be discussing key business highlights, including updates on our Launch and Space Systems programs, and we will discuss the financial highlights and outlook before we finish by taking questions.

今天我們的演講者是 Rocket Lab 創辦人兼執行長 Peter Beck 爵士；以及財務長 Adam Spice。他們將討論關鍵業務亮點，包括我們的發射和太空系統計劃的最新情況，我們將在回答問題之前討論財務亮點和前景。

So with that, let me turn the call over to Sir Peter.

那麼，讓我把電話轉給彼得爵士。

Thanks, Murielle, and thanks for everybody joining us today.

謝謝穆里埃爾，也謝謝今天加入我們的所有人。

Before we take you through the achievements of the quarter, I'd like to remind everybody what every launch, every development milestone, every spacecraft we build is working towards. Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company. We provide the ride to space with our launch vehicles, and we build the spacecraft to do the work in orbit. This ultimately gives us the keys to space, unlocking the largest market of all space applications.

在我們向您介紹本季的成就之前，我想提醒大家，我們每一次發射、每一個發展里程碑、我們建造的每艘太空船都在努力實現什麼目標。Rocket Lab 是一家端到端太空公司。我們用我們的運載火箭提供太空之旅，並建造太空船在軌道上進行工作。這最終為我們提供了太空的鑰匙，打開了所有太空應用的最大市場。

With Phase 1 and 2, the rockets in the spacecraft now well established, we're well positioned to create our own constellations to provide in-demand services and capabilities in the space. In Q3, we strengthened this position with a few key achievements, including the signing of a multi-launch deal for Neutron with a commercial constellation operator. And we've been very considerate in a way that we've approached Neutron's first commercial contracts, and I look forward to sharing more on this later in the call.

透過第一階段和第二階段，太空船中的火箭現已完善，我們已準備好創建自己的星座，以在太空中提供所需的服務和能力。在第三季度，我們透過一些關鍵成就鞏固了這一地位，包括與商業星座運營商簽署了 Neutron 的多次發射協議。我們在處理 Neutron 的第一份商業合約時一直非常周到，我期待在稍後的電話會議中分享更多相關內容。

On the small rocket front, we successfully launched multiple Electron missions in Q3 and signed $55 million in new Electron launch contracts, a testament to strong and growing demand for dedicated small launch and acknowledgment of Electron's position.

在小型火箭方面，我們在第三季度成功發射了多次Electron 任務，並簽署了價值5500 萬美元的新Electron 發射合同，這證明了對專用小型發射的強勁且不斷增長的需求以及對Electron 地位的認可。

As for Space Systems, I'll be sharing updates on various programs, but one key callout is the Mars Sample Return contract study. Anybody who is familiar with the Mars Sample Return understands NASA believes their current mission architecture is too costly, will take too long. So they've requested innovative new proposals to deliver samples sooner and bring the cost down.

至於空間系統，我將分享各種計劃的最新情況，但其中一個關鍵的亮點是火星樣本返回合約研究。任何熟悉火星樣本返回的人都知道美國宇航局認為他們目前的任務架構成本太高，而且需要太長時間。因此，他們要求提出創新的新建議，以更快地交付樣品並降低成本。

We are delighted to be selected by NASA to put forward a study into how Rocket Lab would achieve this, and I'm very excited to share in more details about our proposal to support the mission today.

我們很高興被美國太空總署選中來提出一項關於火箭實驗室如何實現這一目標的研究，我很高興能分享有關我們今天支持該任務的提案的更多細節。

And of course, to deliver Space Systems at scale, you need to be able to pump out constellations of spacecraft quickly and cost effectively. I'm proud to share that our spacecraft production line in Long Beach is churning out spacecraft at a faster rate than ever, which builds -- with builds underway for a backlog of more than 40 spacecraft. All of these achievements and capabilities feed into our final strategic pillar, being able to build and launch and operate our own constellations.

當然，為了大規模交付太空系統，您需要能夠快速且經濟高效地生產太空船群。我很自豪地告訴大家，我們位於長灘的太空船生產線正在以前所未有的速度生產太空船，並且正在建造積壓的 40 多艘太空船。所有這些成就和能力都構成了我們最終的戰略支柱，能夠建造、發射和運作我們自己的星座。

I'll address it right up front that -- right up front, which is that we're not ready to reveal details on what this constellation or application may be. But I think it's important to understand the strong foundation we've built up across Launch and Space Systems to enable it in due course.

我將首先解決這個問題，即我們還沒有準備好透露有關該星座或應用程式的詳細資訊。但我認為重要的是要了解我們在發射和太空系統中建立的堅實基礎，以便在適當的時候實現這一目標。

Okay. On to some quick financial highlights for Q3. We delivered another really strong quarter with positive metrics across the business. Our third quarter revenue topped out at $105 million within $1 million of our record revenue achieved last quarter. That's a 55% revenue increase year-on-year, while our backlog has grown 80% year-on-year to set at $1.05 billion at the end of September.

好的。接下來是第三季的一些快速財務亮點。我們又一個強勁的季度在整個業務中取得了積極的指標。我們第三季的營收達到 1.05 億美元，與上季創紀錄的營收相差 100 萬美元。營收年增 55%，而我們的積壓訂單年增 80%，截至 9 月底達到 10.5 億美元。

I'll let Adam dig into the numbers properly, but I think it's important to note upfront that once again that we're delivering on the old Rocket Lab adage, mantra of, we do what we say we were going to do, across both engineering and technical achievements, but as well as financial goals.

我會讓 Adam 正確地深入研究這些數字，但我認為重要的是要預先指出，我們再次兌現了火箭實驗室的古老格言，即我們說我們要做的事，無論是工程和技術成就，還有財務目標。

Okay. On to Electron updates. We've reached 12 missions for the year and counting, setting a new annual launch record for Electron. Only two rockets globally launched more than Electron, that's the Falcon 9 and the Chinese Long March, making Electron one of the most globally significant rockets flying today.

好的。關於 Electron 的更新。我們今年已經完成了 12 次任務，並且還在增加，為 Electron 創造了新的年度發射記錄。全球只有兩枚火箭的發射次數超過 Electron，那就是獵鷹 9 號和中國長徵號，這使得 Electron 成為當今全球最重要的火箭之一。

Launch cadence is one thing, but doing so in a financially sustainable way is quite another. We've sold $55 million in new Electron launch contracts in Q3. But what's really important to note about is the significant increase in average sales price. This is now 60% higher than when Electron first started flying. We've brought a service to market that works that customers need, and we've proven we can scale. The cost just reflects how rare and sought after this capability is.

發布節奏是一回事，但以財務上可持續的方式進行則是另一回事。我們在第三季已售出 5500 萬美元的新 Electron 啟動合約。但真正值得注意的是平均銷售價格的大幅上漲。現在比 Electron 剛開始飛行時高了 60%。我們已將滿足客戶需求的服務推向市場，並且我們已經證明我們可以擴展。成本僅僅反映了這種能力的稀有性和受歡迎程度。

Just to help visualize it, here is a snapshot of the global launch cadence this year across all vehicles, and you can see Electron is right up there in the top ranking in number three spot.

為了幫助直觀地看到它，這裡是今年所有車輛的全球發布節奏的快照，您可以看到 Electron 名列前茅，位居第三。

Now on to Electron launches for the quarter. We had three missions for three separate commercial constellation operators during Q3. Each of the missions are part of multi-launch contracts with returning customers. Electron provides a vital sought-after service for small sat constellation operators who want to be in control of their orbits, launch schedule and mission parameters, in a way that's just not possible on large rideshare missions.

現在讓我們來看看本季度 Electron 的發布情況。第三季度，我們為三個獨立的商業星座運營商執行了三項任務。每項任務都是與回頭客簽訂的多次發射合約的一部分。Electron 為想要控制軌道、發射時間表和任務參數的小型衛星星座營運商提供了一項重要的、廣受歡迎的服務，而這在大型共享出行任務中是不可能實現的。

We had another quick turnaround between missions to launching Electron back-to-back from Launch Complex One within just eight days of each other.

我們在任務之間又進行了一次快速週轉，從發射綜合體一號連續發射 Electron 到發射僅八天內。

Speaking of fast turnarounds, after Q3, we completed another record launch in record time. We launched a mission for a confidential constellation operator just 10 weeks after signing contract. This kind of speed is pretty well unheard of in the space industry. It's typical to take a year to go from contract to orbit. And of course, that causes bottlenecks and limited launch opportunities for satellite operators.

說到快速週轉，第三季之後，我們在創紀錄的時間內完成了另一項創紀錄的發布。簽訂合約僅 10 週後，我們就為一家機密星座營運商啟動了一項任務。這種速度在航太工業中是聞所未聞的。從合約到進入軌道通常需要一年的時間。當然，這會為衛星營運商帶來瓶頸和有限的發射機會。

Electron has plugged this gap, getting a satellite operation on orbit faster so they can test their technology sooner, begin generating revenue for constellations earlier or collect urgent data from space on demand.

Electron 填補了這一空白，使衛星更快地在軌道上運行，以便他們可以更快地測試其技術，並更早地開始為星座創造收入或按需從太空收集緊急數據。

I've discussed at length previously that launch is a lumpy business. It's common for customers to request delays and new launch dates, causing a constant manifest shuffles -- causing constant manifest shuffles. This results in an ever-changing fluid launch schedule. But because we have a factory of rockets and three launch sites standing by to support, we can slot new customers in as these gaps open up quickly.

我之前已經詳細討論過，發布是一件不穩定的事情。客戶請求延遲和新的發布日期是很常見的，這會導致不斷的清單洗牌——導致不斷的清單洗牌。這導致了不斷變化的流體發射時間表。但由於我們有一個火箭工廠和三個發射場隨時提供支持，因此我們可以在這些差距迅速擴大時引入新客戶。

And I'm sure the software team will laugh at me for this, but in reference to ultimate flexibility, it's a feature and not a bug of the Electron business model, especially as we collect up to 90% of the contract value for every mission before launch day with revenue recognized on launch. So if a launch slips a month here or there, the overall impact to the business is pretty well negligible.

我確信軟體團隊會因此嘲笑我，但就終極靈活性而言，這是 Electron 商業模式的一個功能，而不是一個錯誤，特別是當我們為每個任務收集高達 90% 的合約價值時在發布日之前，並在發佈時確認收入。因此，如果發佈時間延遲一個月，對業務的整體影響可以忽略不計。

Right. Moving on from small launch on to Neutron updates. Okay. So we've signed a launch agreement with the constellation operator, which encompasses two very early launches on Neutron. Thanks to our proven track record with Electron, the space industry has come to expect high-performing reliable launch vehicles from Rocket Lab.

正確的。從小規模發布轉向 Neutron 更新。好的。因此，我們與星座運營商簽署了一項發射協議，其中包括 Neutron 的兩次早期發射。由於我們在 Electron 方面的良好記錄，航太工業開始期待 Rocket Lab 提供高性能、可靠的運載火箭。

Because of this, we have worked with a lot of different customers for Neutron's first few missions, but we're in the fortunate position to be able to choose who flies first and have made a careful and considerate strategic decisions around that.

正因為如此，我們在 Neutron 的前幾次任務中與許多不同的客戶合作，但我們很幸運能夠選擇誰先飛，並圍繞著這個做出了仔細和深思熟慮的戰略決策。

We see this agreement as an important opportunity that signifies the beginning of a productive collaboration that could see Neutron deploy this particular customer's entire constellation. I'm confident in these two launches will be the first of many more to come from this particular customer.

我們認為該協議是一個重要的機會，標誌著富有成效的合作的開始，Neutron 可以部署該特定客戶的整個星座。我相信這兩次發布將是該特定客戶推出的更多產品中的第一個。

Now we've really been methodical about when we open the bookings on Neutron 2. It's all too common in the space industry for aspiring launch providers to sign nonbinding agreements and sell missions at a loss to fund development. We know that it's better to bring a real rocket to the market first and to command a premium price.

現在，當我們開放 Neutron 2 的預訂時，我們確實很有條理。在航太工業中，有抱負的發射提供者簽署不具約束力的協議併虧本出售任務來資助開發的情況太常見了。我們知道，最好先將真正的火箭推向市場並獲得高價。

As we draw closer to Neutron's debut next year, conversations with customers and demand for launch slots have started to mature. As everyone will expect, I'm very happy to say that the contract value, this particular contract value is in family with our standard Neutron pricing for launches.

隨著 Neutron 明年首次亮相的時間越來越接近，與客戶的對話以及對發射時段的需求已經開始成熟。正如每個人所期望的那樣，我很高興地說合約價值，這個特定的合約價值與我們的標準 Neutron 發射定價一致。

One of the programs that Neutron has been ideally suited for from day one was when we conceived the vehicle, was the US Space Force National Security Space Launch Program, or NSSL. The Space Force recently opened up the RFPs for the program's next Lane 1 on-ramp, which will see us compete to qualify for a share of up to $5.6 billion of national security launches.

從我們構思該車輛的第一天起，Neutron 就非常適合用於美國太空部隊國家安全太空發射計畫（NSSL）的計畫之一。天軍最近開放了該計劃下一個 Lane 1 入口的 RFP，這將使我們競爭高達 56 億美元的國家安全發射份額的資格。

There is an unnerving bottleneck in the medium launch market currently, creating a risk for national security. Bringing new launch capability to NSSL is critical to increasing the DoD's diversity of opportunities, assuring access to space for national security. And with our proven track record, market-leading design and established infrastructure, Neutron is a pretty compelling choice.

目前中型發射市場存在令人不安的瓶頸，為國家安全帶來風險。為 NSSL 帶來新的發射能力對於增加國防部機會的多樣性、確保國家安全進入太空至關重要。憑藉我們良好的業績記錄、市場領先的設計和成熟的基礎設施，Neutron 是一個非常引人注目的選擇。

We're well past the design phase now moving into Neutron's build and test campaigns. Keeping our schedule for the first launch next year puts us inside the 2025 year-end time frame sought by the Space Forces for the next on-ramp.

我們已經遠遠超過了設計階段，現在進入 Neutron 的建造和測試活動。保持明年首次發射的時間表使我們能夠在太空部隊尋求的 2025 年年底時間範圍內進行下一次發射。

We brought a new vehicle to market before with Electron, which is a reliably delivered national security payloads to orbit for several years. And with Electron, we reached 50 launches faster than any other commercially developed rocket in history. So we know how to do this, and we know how to do this well.

我們之前透過 Electron 向市場推出了一款新車，它是多年來可靠地將國家安全有效載荷送入軌道的產品。透過 Electron，我們實現了 50 次發射，比歷史上任何其他商業開發的火箭都要快。所以我們知道如何做到這一點，並且我們知道如何做好這件事。

Government interest in Neutron's development is ramping up in other areas, too. This quarter, we were awarded an $8 million study contract with the US Air Force's Research Lab to showcase our digital engineering prowess with Archimedes. This contract has a tie-in with the NSSL program as well, where it includes the option to expand our digital engineering processes and further build on -- build the digital engineering framework for NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 launch providers.

政府對 Neutron 開發的興趣在其他領域也不斷增強。本季度，我們與美國空軍研究實驗室簽訂了 800 萬美元的研究合同，以展示我們與阿基米德的數位工程實力。該合約還與 NSSL 計劃相結合，其中包括擴展我們的數位工程流程並進一步為 NSSL 第 3 階段第 1 階段啟動提供者建立數位工程框架的選項。

This contract is a bit of a win-win when it comes to defense industry partnerships. It not only allows the US Air Force to collaborate with industry leaders like the Archimedes team to help develop and modernize the US Air Force's engineering processes and capabilities, but it also supports smoother integration of Neutron into the NSSL program to more efficiently and quickly provide for some of the nation's most critical missions.

就國防工業合作夥伴關係而言，這份合約有點雙贏。它不僅使美國空軍能夠與阿基米德團隊等行業領導者合作，幫助美國空軍的工程流程和能力開發和現代化，而且還支持將Neutron 更順利地整合到NSSL 計劃中，以更有效率、更快速地提供一些國家最重要的任務。

Elsewhere across the DoD, the USTRANSCOM has extended our 2022 research agreement that allows us to continue to explore point-to-point cargo delivery with Neutron. And we've recently received confirmation from the US Space Force's Space Systems Command that Neutron can now compete for missions under OSP-4, a near $1 billion indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract that were on-ramp to a few years back.

在國防部的其他地方，美國運輸司令部延長了我們的 2022 年研究協議，使我們能夠繼續探索使用 Neutron 進行點對點貨物運輸。我們最近收到美國太空軍太空系統司令部的確認，Neutron 現在可以參與 OSP-4 下的任務，這是一份近 10 億美元的無限期交付、無限數量合同，幾年前就已開始實施。

All right. Moving on to now to Neutron's development progress and some of the technical milestones we've hit this quarter. We're well past the design phase now and deep into the qualification and testing of our large-scale flight hardware.

好的。現在繼續討論 Neutron 的開發進度以及我們本季達到的一些技術里程碑。我們現在已經遠遠超過了設計階段，並深入到大型飛行硬體的鑑定和測試階段。

Starting with the reusable captive fairing for Neutron or as we like to call it, the Hungry Hippo, these fairing halves remain attached to Neutron's first stage for the first -- for the full flight, simply opening to release the payload in the second stage before closing back and returning back to earth with the rest of stage 1 ready for another flight.

從Neutron 的可重複使用的系留整流罩開始，或者我們喜歡稱之為“飢餓的河馬”，這些整流罩的半部分在第一級中仍然附著在Neutron 的第一級上，在整個飛行過程中，只需打開以在第二級中釋放有效載荷即可關閉並返回地球，第一階段的其餘部分準備好進行另一次飛行。

These fairing halves will soon be going through their mechanical testing before assembly and integration onto the large-scale composite panels and the seven-meter wide barrels that make up the first stage.

這些整流罩很快就會進行機械測試，然後組裝並整合到構成第一級的大型複合材料面板和七米寬的桶上。

Another big milestone was the recent successful test of the second stage. We conducted its first wet dress rehearsal in a flight configuration going through the pressures, mechanical loads, processes and procedures that would be seen in flight operations.

另一個重大里程碑是最近第二階段的成功測試。我們在飛行配置中進行了第一次濕裝彩排，了解了飛行操作中可能出現的壓力、機械負載、流程和程序。

Part of the test campaign included onboard avionics, taking command and control of the stage and demonstrating pressurization, fill, drain and cold float operations. This has been one of the biggest integrated milestones yet proving out not only the flight hardware, but also the supporting infrastructure to operate the vehicle.

測試活動的一部分包括機載航空電子設備、指揮和控制舞台以及演示加壓、填充、排水和冷浮操作。這是迄今為止最大的綜合里程碑之一，不僅證明了飛行硬件，還證明了操作飛行器的支援基礎設施。

We have flight hardware in production for all other Neutron composite structures, including the barrels and domes for the vehicle's first stage propellant tank. All of the internal propellant management devices, the avionics, are on track for integration to the stage 1 tank before it goes through the same set of test campaign as the second stage has just done.

我們正在生產所有其他中子複合結構的飛行硬件，包括飛行器第一級推進劑箱的筒體和圓頂。所有內部推進劑管理設備、航空電子設備都有望整合到第一階段坦克中，然後再進行與第二階段剛完成的相同的一組測試活動。

Now onto Archimedes. We've talked about it before, our approach before with Archimedes and how we were strategic in taking our time to bring a flight ready engine to the test stand. That means we could hit the ground running to qualify rather than mess around with early prototypes needing lots of design tweaks and changes in manufacturing that would ultimately slow the program down.

現在談阿基米德。我們之前已經討論過，我們之前與阿基米德的方法以及我們如何策略性地花時間將飛行就緒的引擎帶到測試台。這意味著我們可以立即開始進行資格認證，而不是在早期原型上進行大量設計調整和製造變更，最終減慢專案速度。

We've seen that strategy really pay off in these past few months. Our engine test cadence in Mississippi has doubled over the quarter and we've brought multiple engines to the test stand. The thing to point out here too is that a rocket engine program is never a one-and-done scenario. Archimedes engines will go through short burst tests, full duration hot fires and tweaks all the way up to Neutron's first flight.

在過去的幾個月裡，我們看到這項策略確實得到了回報。我們在密西西比州的引擎測試節奏在本季度增加了一倍，並且我們將多台引擎帶到了測試台。這裡也要指出的是，火箭引擎計畫從來都不是一勞永逸的。阿基米德發動機將經歷短時爆裂測試、全程熱火和調整，直到中子的首次飛行。

So far, though, we have continued to see strong performance from the Archimedes and we're able to iterate updates rapidly, which is really where we want to be at this point in time in the test campaign.

不過，到目前為止，我們繼續看到阿基米德的強勁表現，並且我們能夠快速迭代更新，這確實是我們在測試活動中目前想要達到的目標。

All that to say is that the cornerstone of any rocket program depends on how quickly and reliably you can scale engine production in parallel. I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating because building your first rocket engine is hard, building at 10 times, 20 times, 50 times and at pace that can keep up with demand is even harder.

綜上所述，任何火箭計畫的基石都取決於並行擴展引擎生產的速度和可靠性。我知道我之前已經說過了，但值得重複一遍，因為建造你的第一個火箭發動機很困難，以 10 倍、20 倍、50 倍的速度建造，並且以能夠跟上需求的速度更加困難。

With that in mind, we continue to scale production for Archimedes at the same time that we're testing it. We've got the assembly line in California humming with engines shipping out the door frequently to Mississippi, setting us up well to get into a good launch cadence with Neutron after first flight.

考慮到這一點，我們在測試阿基米德的同時繼續擴大生產規模。我們在加州的裝配線嗡嗡作響，引擎經常運往密西西比州，這使我們能夠在首次飛行後與中子號保持良好的發射節奏。

A rocket program is much more than just a vehicle, of course, and its engines. Launch infrastructure is a critical component and one of the pieces that we've had a bit of practice to, thanks to having stood up three pads on two hemispheres with Electron.

當然，火箭計劃不僅僅是一種運載工具及其引擎。發射基礎設施是一個關鍵組件，也是我們已經進行過一些練習的部分之一，這要歸功於使用 Electron 在兩個半球上豎起了三個發射台。

Launch sites are a little bit like an iceberg, there's so much of the infrastructure that is underground or hidden in the development phase. With that now well established, we're starting to put the finishing touches on the above ground of the structure including a massive 165 ton steel structure launch mount that will hold down -- and hold down mechanisms.

發射場有點像一座冰山，有許多基礎設施位於地下或隱藏在開發階段。現在一切都已確定，我們開始對地面結構進行最後的修飾，包括一個重達 165 噸的大型鋼結構發射架，用於固定和固定機構。

It's from this structure that Neutron will lift off next year. The launch mount will be installed in LC-3 in the coming few weeks and from there the focus will start to shift to pad commissioning before flight one.

Neutron 將於明年從這個結構中升空。發射架將在未來幾週內安裝在 LC-3 上，從那時起，重點將開始轉移到第一次飛行前的發射台調試。

On the ground at Launch Complex 3 some really big long lead items have made their way to the pad at Wallops Island including 290,000 gallon propellant tanks that were installed in Q3. Each of them is longer than one of our Electron rockets which really helps put into perspective the scale of the works that are happening at LC-3.

在 3 號發射場的地面上，一些非常大的長鉛物品已運往瓦勒普斯島的發射台，其中包括第三季安裝的 290,000 加侖推進劑罐。每一枚都比我們的一枚 Electron 火箭還要長，這確實有助於了解 LC-3 正在進行的工作規模。

Just a few miles up the road from the launch pad we've completed the construction of the assembly and integration and test building where Neutron's vehicles will go through their final checks before they're taken to the launch pad.

在距離發射台僅幾英里的地方，我們已經完成了組裝、整合和測試大樓的建設，中子的車輛將在被送往發射台之前進行最終檢查。

Having this building only three miles from the launch pad is a real strategic advantage for us as we don't have to grapple with the slow and expensive complex logistics of transporting a hulking rocket across the country just to get to the launch pad.

這棟建築距離發射台僅三英里，這對我們來說是一個真正的戰略優勢，因為我們不必費力應對緩慢而昂貴的複雜後勤工作，即在全國範圍內運輸巨型火箭才能到達發射台。

That wraps up the headline items on the launch front so now moving into Space Systems. So one of NASA's flagship missions is the Mars Sample Return program which aims to bring scientifically selected samples from Mars -- back from Mars to Earth for the first time in history. But NASA has said that their current architecture is too costly at $11 billion and too slow with the samples not expected to be into the hands of scientists until 2040.

這就是發射方面的頭條新聞，現在進入太空系統。因此，美國宇航局的旗艦任務之一是火星樣本返回計劃，該計劃旨在歷史上首次將經過科學挑選的火星樣本從火星帶回地球。但 NASA 表示，他們目前的架構成本太高，需要 110 億美元，而且速度太慢，預計要到 2040 年才能將樣本交給科學家。

So the agency put out a call to industry for new proposals and I'm proud to confirm we were selected to conduct the study. We're putting forward a highly compelling concept that will return Mars rocks faster and at fraction of the cost -- of the current cost of the program.

因此，該機構向業界發出了新提案的呼籲，我很自豪地確認我們被選中進行這項研究。我們提出了一個非常引人注目的概念，它將更快地返回火星岩石，而成本只是該計劃當前成本的一小部分。

This mission is one of the biggest most ambitious projects NASA has ever undertaken. It will completely change the way that we think about our solar system, potentially answer whether life ever existed on Mars and help prepare for the first human explorers on the red planet. While it might not be obvious at first glance it's a mission that we're actually uniquely suited to.

這項任務是美國太空總署有史以來最大、最雄心勃勃的項目之一。它將徹底改變我們對太陽系的看法，有可能回答火星上是否存在生命的問題，並幫助為第一批人類探索者在這顆紅色星球上做好準備。雖然乍看之下可能並不明顯，但這實際上是我們獨特適合的使命。

Now our fingerprints are already all over Mars. Our technology has been incorporated into missions like the Mars Insight Lander, the Ingenuity Helicopter and even the cruise stage that brought Perseverance to Mars. Enabling the very rovers that are collecting the samples to be brought to -- samples brought to Earth under the Mars Sample Return. From orbiters and rovers, landers, cruise stages we have experience in delivering mission success on the red planet.

現在我們的指紋已經遍佈火星。我們的技術已融入火星洞察號登陸器、獨創號直升機等任務中，甚至用於將毅力號帶到火星的巡航階段。使正在收集樣本的漫遊車能夠透過火星樣本返回器將樣本帶到地球。從軌道飛行器、漫遊車、登陸器、巡航階段，我們擁有在這顆紅色星球上成功執行任務的經驗。

Now everything we've put into place over the years either through our own organic development or through acquisitions of some of the industry's leading technology suppliers has been part of our methodical strategy to offer vertically integrated solutions for complex missions just like these.

現在，我們多年來透過自己的有機發展或透過收購一些業界領先的技術供應商所採取的一切，已經成為我們有條不紊的策略的一部分，為此類複雜的任務提供垂直整合的解決方案。

Mars Sample Return requires an immense depth of experience and capability, the very kind that our team and technologies have delivered on before. We have the expertise in building and launching small rockets from little planets. We have the innovative Mars spacecraft. We have demonstrated re-entry capability.

火星樣本返回需要深厚的經驗和能力，而我們的團隊和技術之前已經提供了這種經驗和能力。我們擁有在小行星上建造和發射小型火箭的專業知識。我們擁有創新的火星飛船。我們已經展示了重返大氣層的能力。

We've enabled rendezvous and proximity missions. We're leaders in guidance navigation control and our flight software is already on moon landers. And we know how to manage large and complicated missions including ones for NASA.

我們已經啟用了交會和接近任務。我們是導引導航控制的領導者，我們的飛行軟體已經安裝在月球登陸器上。我們知道如何管理大型複雜的任務，包括美國太空總署的任務。

We've shown time and time again that we're disruptors in the industry who are able to conduct missions beyond Earth's orbit on a rapidly fast development timeline and when others say they can't do it, we can do it at a fraction of the traditional cost. We look forward to delivering this once again for Mars Sample Return should a proposal make it through the selection process later this year.

我們一次又一次地證明，我們是產業的顛覆者，能夠在快速發展的時間內執行地球軌道以外的任務，當其他人說他們做不到時，我們可以只用一小部分就能做到。傳統成本。如果今年稍後有提案通過選擇過程，我們期待再次為火星樣本返回提供此資訊。

Now on to other updates across our Space Systems business. Before I dive into more specific mission updates I wanted to provide a quick snapshot of just some of the various programs underway. This one is just a -- this is just the latest lineup of spacecraft we're building right now or have already completed.

現在我們的空間系統業務的其他更新。在深入研究更具體的任務更新之前，我想提供一些正在進行的各種計劃的快速快照。這只是我們現在正在建造或已經完成的最新系列太空船。

Like our 2 ESCAPADE spacecraft for Mars, two completely different constellation spacecraft, one for cell connectivity for MDA Globalstar, the other for national security and the Space Development Agency and other individual technology test missions ranging from connectivity in space to cryogenic fuel storage on orbit. Beyond these missions and constellations we continue to do strongly in our merchant space systems business with mega constellation contracts too.

就像我們的火星2 ESCAPADE 航天器一樣，這是兩個完全不同的星座航天器，一個用於MDA Globalstar 的細胞連接，另一個用於國家安全和空間發展局以及其他單獨的技術測試任務，範圍從太空連接到軌道上的低溫燃料儲存。除了這些任務和星座之外，我們還透過大型星座合約繼續在商業太空系統業務中表現強勁。

Some of you will remember me talking about scaling up our satellite facilities in California as we bring on new and bigger spacecraft contracts. Well, part of the benefit for us taking over the previous Virgin orbit building for pennies on the dollar for our new engine production site was it allowed us to use that extra space in our headquarters to be converted to our satellite production facility.

你們中的一些人會記得我談論過在我們簽訂新的、更大的太空船合約時擴大我們在加州的衛星設施的規模。嗯，對我們來說，以低廉的價格接管之前的維珍軌道建築用於我們的新發動機生產基地的部分好處是，它允許我們利用總部的額外空間來轉換為我們的衛星生產設施。

We're really starting to see that strategy pay dividends with production lines of our various spacecraft platforms now up and running. Without -- all without a single shovel in the ground we've avoided all the headaches of having to build new buildings and factories from scratch and save precious time and resource in our scaling strategy.

我們確實開始看到這項策略帶來了紅利，我們各種太空船平台的生產線現在已投入運作。沒有——所有這些都不需要一把鏟子，我們就避免了從頭開始建造新建築和工廠的所有麻煩，並在我們的擴展策略中節省了寶貴的時間和資源。

And the beauty of having all those Space Systems products co-located in one building there are simple ease of integration for our teams. A technician can literally walk across the floor, hand over an avionics box to a spacecraft integration team as opposed to waiting for months for a supplier to produce it, ship it and then deliver it. It's really the true beauty of vertical integration for our business.

將所有這些 Space Systems 產品集中在一棟建築物中的好處是，我們的團隊可以輕鬆輕鬆地整合。技術人員實際上可以走過地板，將航空電子設備箱交給太空船整合團隊，而不是等待供應商生產、運輸然後交付數月。這確實是我們業務垂直整合的真正魅力。

Now on to some more specific program updates under the Space Systems umbrella and if I can stick with Mars for just a little bit longer. In Q3 we completed and delivered the two spacecraft for the ESCAPADE science mission to Mars for NASA. It was a really monumental feat in itself given the 3.5 year time span handed to us to deliver this mission.

現在談談太空系統下的一些更具體的計劃更新，以及我是否可以在火星上停留更長時間。在第三季度，我們為 NASA 的 ESCAPADE 火星科學任務完成並交付了兩艘太空船。考慮到我們完成這項任務的時間跨度為 3.5 年，這本身就是一項具有里程碑意義的壯舉。

Unfortunately, however, outside our control, the rocket these satellites we're launching on wasn't quite ready in time for that Mars transfer window, so the mission has been somewhat delayed. But the team is standing by and ready to support once the new launch date is set.

然而不幸的是，在我們的控制範圍之外，我們發射的這些衛星的火箭沒有及時準備好迎接火星轉移窗口，因此任務有所延遲。但一旦新的發布日期確定，團隊就隨時待命並準備好提供支援。

On to our $500 million prime contract with the Space Development Agency for their Tranche 2 Transport Layer constellation. So the team is hitting some great technical targets within the program. The preliminary design of the spacecraft is complete. The work being pulled -- the work can begin pulling the hardware together in the clean rooms at headquarters. This progress puts us in a strong position for the upcoming solicitations of 200 satellites under the Tranche 3 of the SDA's program, a procurement process expected to begin in 2025.

我們與太空發展局簽訂了價值 5 億美元的第二階段傳輸層星座主合約。因此，該團隊正在實現該計劃中的一些偉大的技術目標。航天器初步設計已完成。正在進行的工作－工作可以開始在總部的無塵室中將硬體組裝在一起。這項進展使我們在 SDA 計畫第 3 階段即將進行的 200 顆衛星招標中處於有利地位，採購過程預計將於 2025 年開始。

And finally, to wrap up Space Systems, our next two satellites for Varda Space Industries have been completed and are now ready for launch. Our Pioneer class-based satellites host Varda's capsules and provide power, communications, propulsion and altitude control for the mission.

最後，為了結束太空系統，我們為瓦爾達航太工業公司建造的下兩顆衛星已經完成，現在準備發射。我們的先鋒級衛星承載著 Varda 的太空艙，並為任務提供電力、通訊、推進和高度控制。

It's our first spacecraft -- our first spacecraft for Varda helped bring the capsule back home from space landing it in the Utah desert last year with our next spacecraft set to do the same thing again but this time over Australia where both missions are set to re-enter the atmosphere and land in southern Australia soon after launch next year. In the meantime, the team is already working on the fourth Pioneer spacecraft for the same Varda mission.

這是我們的第一艘太空船——去年，我們為瓦爾達服務的第一艘太空船幫助將太空艙從太空帶回了家，並在猶他州沙漠著陸，我們的下一艘太空船將再次做同樣的事情，但這次是在澳大利亞，兩次任務都將重新進行- 明年發射後不久將進入大氣層並在澳大利亞南部著陸。同時，團隊已經在為執行瓦爾達任務而研發第四艘先鋒號太空船。

And before I hand it over to Adam, I just wanted to wrap up with a couple of personnel changes at the Board and executive level for this past quarter. So Mike Griffin has finished up on the Rocket Lab Board after a four-year tenure serving the company. We're incredibly grateful for his experience and leadership helping guide Rocket Lab's growth from a private startup to a global industry leader in Launch and Space Systems and really want to thank him and wish him all the best as he retires from Rocket Lab's Board.

在我將其交給 Adam 之前，我只想總結一下上個季度董事會和高階主管的一些人事變動。麥克‧格里芬 (Mike Griffin) 在為公司服務了四年後，已經成為火箭實驗室董事會成員。我們非常感謝他的經驗和領導力，幫助引導 Rocket Lab 從一家私人新創公司成長為發射和航太系統領域的全球行業領導者，我們非常感謝他，並祝他在從 Rocket Lab 董事會退休時一切順利。

But as one chapter ends, another two begin at Rocket Lab across Board and executive level. This quarter we welcomed Frank Klein to the team as a new Chief Operations Officer. Frank joins us with 30 years of international manufacturing experience and leadership in the automotive industry at Daimler, Mercedes-Benz and most recently a prominent EV company.

但隨著一個章節的結束，另外兩個章節將在火箭實驗室的董事會和執行層級開始。本季度，我們歡迎 Frank Klein 加入團隊，擔任新的營運長。Frank 在戴姆勒、梅賽德斯-奔馳以及最近一家著名的電動汽車公司擁有 30 年的國際製造經驗和在汽車行業的領導地位。

As a COO, Frank is leading our efforts to scale global manufacturing of our spacecraft launch vehicles and spacecraft components, and it's great to have a seasoned and experienced leader like Frank bring his wealth of knowledge in lean manufacturing and scaling to Rocket Lab.

作為首席營運官，弗蘭克正在領導我們努力擴大太空船運載火箭和太空船零件的全球製造規模，很高興能有像弗蘭克這樣經驗豐富的領導者將他在精益製造和規模化方面的豐富知識帶到火箭實驗室。

And Ken Possenriede also joined us from the Board of Directors this past quarter. He joins Rocket Lab after a 35-year career at Lockheed Martin in financial leadership positions including serving as the Space Prime's Chief Financial Officer.

Ken Possenriede 也在上個季度加入了我們的董事會。他在洛克希德馬丁公司工作了 35 年，擔任過包括 Space Prime 財務長在內的財務領導職務，之後加入 Rocket Lab。

Ken's deep aerospace and defense industry experience combined with his financial leadership adds to even more horsepower on an already impressive Board lineup and it's fantastic to have him onboard to help us shape the future.

肯豐富的航空航太和國防工業經驗加上他的財務領導能力，為已經令人印象深刻的董事會陣容增添了更多動力，他的加入幫助我們塑造未來真是太棒了。

So with that, I'll hand it over to Adam now to provide further commentary and to discuss our financial highlights and outlook. Over to you Adam.

因此，我現在將其交給 Adam，以提供進一步的評論並討論我們的財務亮點和前景。交給你了，亞當。

Great. Thanks, Pete. All right. Third quarter 2024 revenue was $105 million which was at the high end of our prior guidance range and reflect significant year-on-year growth of 55% driven by strong contribution from both business segments but led by Space Systems.

偉大的。謝謝，皮特。好的。2024 年第三季營收為 1.05 億美元，處於我們先前指導範圍的高端，反映出在兩個業務部門的強勁貢獻（但以空間系統為首）的推動下，同比增長了 55%。

Our Launch Services segment delivered revenue of $21 million in line with our prior guidance. Our current backlog continues to support our 2024 target average revenue per launch of $7.5 million with some quarterly variability tied to volume purchase commitments, launch location and mission assurance requirements.

我們的發射服務部門實現了 2,100 萬美元的收入，與我們先前的指導一致。我們目前的積壓訂單繼續支持我們 2024 年每次發射平均收入 750 萬美元的目標，但季度變化與批量採購承諾、發射地點和任務保證要求相關。

Our Space Systems segment delivered $89 -- $83.9 million in the quarter near the high-end of our prior guidance range of $79 million to $84 million, reflecting sequential growth of over 9% driven primarily by a strong quarter from our space solar business.

我們的太空系統部門本季度交付了89 至8390 萬美元，接近我們之前指導範圍7900 萬美元至8400 萬美元的高端，反映出超過9% 的環比增長，這主要是由我們的空間太陽能業務強勁的季度推動的。

Now turning to gross margin. GAAP gross margin for the third quarter was 26.7%, in line with our prior guidance range of 25% to 27%. Non-GAAP gross margin for the third quarter was 31.3%, which was also in line with our prior guidance range of 30% to 32%. Relatedly, we ended Q3 with production-related headcount of 964, up 50 from the prior quarter.

現在轉向毛利率。第三季 GAAP 毛利率為 26.7%，符合我們先前 25% 至 27% 的指引範圍。第三季非 GAAP 毛利率為 31.3%，也符合我們先前 30% 至 32% 的指引範圍。與此相關的是，第三季結束時，我們與生產相關的員工人數為 964 人，比上一季增加了 50 人。

Now turning to backlog. We ended Q3 2024 with $1.05 billion of total backlog with launch backlog of $326 million and Space Systems backlog of $721 million. Relative to Q3 of last year, total backlog increased 80% or $465 million, primarily due to our $515 million contract award to build 18 spacecraft for the SDA we won last year.

現在轉向積壓。截至 2024 年第三季度，我們的積壓訂單總額為 10.5 億美元，其中發射積壓訂單為 3.26 億美元，太空系統積壓訂單為 7.21 億美元。與去年第三季相比，總積壓訂單增加了 80%，即 4.65 億美元，這主要是由於我們去年贏得的 SDA 建造 18 艘太空船的價值 5.15 億美元的合約。

Sequentially, there's a slight remixing of our backlog as a result of particularly strong bookings in our launch segment. We continue to cultivate a healthy pipeline, including multi-launch deals and large satellite manufacturing contracts that can create lumpiness in our backlog growth given the size and complexities of these opportunities. We expect approximately 50% of current backlog to be recognized as revenues within 12 months.

隨後，由於我們的發布部分的預訂量特別強勁，我們的積壓訂單略有重新調整。我們繼續培育健康的管道，包括多次發射交易和大型衛星製造合同，考慮到這些機會的規模和複雜性，這些合約可能會導致我們的積壓訂單增長出現波動。我們預計目前積壓訂單的大約 50% 將在 12 個月內確認為收入。

Turning to operating expenses. GAAP operating expenses for the third quarter of 2024 were $79.9 million, up $9.5 million sequentially, which was at the low end of our guidance range of $80 million to $82 million. Non-GAAP operating expenses for the third quarter were $68.7 million, up $10.2 million sequentially, which was also at the low end of our guidance range of $69 million to $71 million.

轉向營運費用。2024 年第三季的 GAAP 營運費用為 7,990 萬美元，比上一季增加 950 萬美元，處於我們 8,000 萬美元至 8,200 萬美元指引範圍的下限。第三季非 GAAP 營運費用為 6,870 萬美元，比上一季增加 1,020 萬美元，也處於我們 6,900 萬至 7,100 萬美元指導範圍的下限。

The sequential increases in both GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses were primarily driven by continued growth in headcount and prototype spending to support our Neutron development program, related infrastructure IT support for Neutron and our SDA satellite contract.

GAAP 和非 GAAP 營運費用的連續增長主要是由於支援我們的 Neutron 開發計劃、Neutron 的相關基礎設施 IT 支援以及我們的 SDA 衛星合約的人員數量和原型支出的持續增長。

In R&D specifically, GAAP expenses were up $7.8 million quarter-on-quarter due to Neutron prototyping, materials and headcount growth. Non-GAAP R&D expenses were up $8.1 million quarter-on-quarter, driven similarly to GAAP expenses. Q3 ending R&D headcount was 776, representing an increase of 103 from the prior quarter.

具體而言，在研發方面，由於 Neutron 原型設計、材料和員工人數的成長，GAAP 費用較上季增加了 780 萬美元。非 GAAP 研發費用較上季增加 810 萬美元，其推動因素與 GAAP 費用類似。第三季末研發人員總數為 776 人，較上季增加 103 人。

In SG&A, GAAP expenses increased $1.7 million quarter-on-quarter, largely due to an increase in outside services related to legal and IT, with IT spend largely related to security and cyber requirements under our SDA contract and legal spend driven by a range of corporate initiatives, including corporate development as we continue to look to scale the business organically and inorganically. These legal and IT increases are paired with an increase in staff costs.

在SG&A 方面，GAAP 支出環比增加170 萬美元，主要是由於與法律和IT 相關的外部服務的增加，其中IT 支出主要與我們的SDA 合約下的安全和網路要求有關，以及由一系列因素驅動的法律支出企業舉措，包括企業發展，因為我們繼續尋求有機和無機地擴展業務。這些法律和 IT 費用的增加伴隨著員工成本的增加。

Non-GAAP SG&A expenses increased $2.1 million, driven similarly to the GAAP SG&A expenses. Q3 ending SG&A headcount was 300, representing an increase of 27 from the prior quarter. In summary, total third quarter headcount was 2,040, up 180 heads from the prior quarter.

非 GAAP SG&A 費用增加了 210 萬美元，其推動因素與 GAAP SG&A 費用類似。第三季末 SG&A 員工人數為 300 人，比上一季增加 27 人。總而言之，第三季員工總數為 2,040 人，比上一季增加 180 人。

Now moving to non-GAAP free cash flow and adjusted EBITDA. With regards to cash, purchases of property, equipment and capitalized software licenses was $11 million in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of $4.3 million from the $15.3 million in the second quarter of 2024.

現在轉向非 GAAP 自由現金流和調整後 EBITDA。就現金而言，2024 年第三季購買財產、設備和資本化軟體許可證的金額為 1,100 萬美元，比 2024 年第二季的 1,530 萬美元減少了 430 萬美元。

We continue our investment in Neutron research, testing and production infrastructure projects, along with expansion of our satellite production and space solar solutions capacity, and we do expect our capital expenditures to increase over the next few quarters.

我們繼續投資中子研究、測試和生產基礎設施項目，同時擴大我們的衛星生產和太空太陽能解決方案產能，我們預計未來幾季的資本支出將會增加。

Cash consumed from operations was $30.9 million in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $13 million in the second quarter of 2024. The sequential increase of $17.9 million was driven primarily by increased Neutron and Space Systems program spend and lumpiness in Space Systems program milestone receipts, partially offset by improved launch contract cash collections.

2024 年第三季營運消耗的現金為 3,090 萬美元，而 2024 年第二季為 1,300 萬美元。環比增加 1,790 萬美元主要是由於中子和太空系統項目支出增加以及太空系統項目里程碑收入的波動，部分被發射合約現金收款的改善所抵消。

Overall, non-GAAP free cash flow, defined as GAAP operating cash flow less purchases of property, equipment and capitalized software in the third quarter of 2024 was a use of $41.9 million compared to $28.3 million in the second quarter of 2024.

整體而言，2024 年第三季非 GAAP 自由現金流（定義為 GAAP 營運現金流量減去購買的財產、設備和資本化軟體）為 4,190 萬美元，而 2024 年第二季為 2,830 萬美元。

While we are doing better versus our targeted cash consumption run rate, we do expect a pickup in cash consumption in the next few quarters, owing to an increased -- expected increase in Neutron spending ahead of our mid-2025 launch and lumpiness in large Space Systems milestone payment collections.

雖然我們相對於目標現金消耗運行率做得更好，但我們確實預計未來幾季的現金消耗將會回升，因為在我們2025 年中期推出之前Neutron 支出預期會增加，而且大型空間的塊狀性也很不穩定。

The ending balance of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities was $508 million as of the end of the third quarter of 2024. We exit Q3 in a strong position to execute on our organic expansion initiatives as well as inorganic options to further vertically integrate our supply chain with the critical capabilities and expand our addressable market, consistent with what we've done successfully in the past.

截至 2024 年第三季末，現金、現金等價物、限制性現金及有價證券的期末餘額為 5.08 億美元。我們在第三季退出時處於有利地位，可以執行我們的有機擴張計劃以及無機選擇，以進一步垂直整合我們的供應鏈與關鍵能力，並擴大我們的目標市場，這與我們過去成功所做的一致。

Adjusted EBITDA loss was $30.9 million in the third quarter of 2024 compared to a loss of $21.2 million in the second quarter of 2024. The sequential increase of $9.7 million was primarily driven by increased spending related to Neutron development.

2024 年第三季調整後 EBITDA 虧損為 3,090 萬美元，而 2024 年第二季虧損為 2,120 萬美元。環比增長 970 萬美元主要是由於與 Neutron 開發相關的支出增加。

And with that, let's turn to our guidance for the fourth quarter of 2024. We expect revenue in the fourth quarter to range between $125 million and $135 million. This range reflects a step-up in Space Systems and an increase in launch cadence consistent with our prior outlook.

接下來，讓我們來看看 2024 年第四季的指引。我們預計第四季的營收將在 1.25 億美元至 1.35 億美元之間。這個範圍反映了太空系統的進步和發射節奏的增加，這與我們先前的預期一致。

In the past, we've broken down guidance by Launch and Space Systems segments. However, we found it difficult at best to predict launch customer readiness within a quarter and believe that providing a single top line guidance number is more appropriate at this time given the resilience we've witnessed as a result of the expanded diversification of our business. That said, we'll continue to report actual revenues and related gross margins of Launch and Space Systems as distinct segments.

過去，我們按發射和太空系統部分細分了指導。然而，我們發現最多很難預測一個季度內客戶的準備情況，並且考慮到我們因業務多元化擴大而看到的彈性，目前提供單一的頂線指導數字更為合適。也就是說，我們將繼續將發射和航太系統的實際收入和相關毛利率作為不同的部門進行報告。

We expect fourth quarter GAAP gross margin to range between 26% to 28% and non-GAAP gross margin to range between 32% to 34%. These forecasted GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins reflect improved mix within our Space Systems segment, primarily within Satellite Manufacturing as well as better overhead cost absorption in our Launch business.

我們預計第四季 GAAP 毛利率將在 26% 至 28% 之間，非 GAAP 毛利率將在 32% 至 34% 之間。這些預測的 GAAP 和非 GAAP 毛利率反映了我們的太空系統部門（主要是衛星製造部門）的組合改善，以及我們的發射業務更好的間接成本吸收。

We expect fourth quarter GAAP operating expenses to range between $84 million and $86 million and non-GAAP operating expenses to range between $75 million and $77 million. The quarter-on-quarter increases are driven primarily by continued Neutron investment in the staff costs, prototyping and materials.

我們預計第四季度 GAAP 營運支出將在 8,400 萬美元至 8,600 萬美元之間，非 GAAP 營運支出將在 7,500 萬美元至 7,700 萬美元之間。季度環比成長主要是由 Neutron 在員工成本、原型設計和材料方面的持續投資所推動的。

We expect fourth quarter GAAP and non-GAAP net interest expense to be $1.5 million. And we expect fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA loss to range between $27 million and $29 million and basic shares outstanding to be approximately 501 million shares.

我們預計第四季 GAAP 和非 GAAP 淨利息支出為 150 萬美元。我們預計第四季度調整後 EBITDA 損失將在 2,700 萬美元至 2,900 萬美元之間，已發行基本股約為 5.01 億股。

And with that, we'll hand the call over to the operator for questions.

然後，我們會將電話轉交給接線員詢問問題。

(Operator Instructions) Andres Sheppard, Cantor Fitzgerald.

（操作員說明）Andres Sheppard、Cantor Fitzgerald。

Congratulations on the quarter. Certainly, a lot of developments. So well done. I guess, first question, just on the Neutron, I just wanted to clarify. So it sounds like your -- the target for the first launch is unchanged for mid-2025, but the multi-launch agreement that you disclosed today, that's targeted for, I believe, to start in the middle of 2026.

恭喜本季。當然，有很多進展。做得很好。我想，第一個問題，只是關於中子，我只是想澄清一下。因此，聽起來您的首次發射目標在 2025 年中期沒有變化，但您今天披露的多次發射協議的目標是在 2026 年中期開始。

So I guess, A, just wanted to confirm that. And, B, then if that's the case, why announce this contract today, just given where you still are on the Neutron development? Any color there would be helpful.

所以我想，A，只是想確認這一點。而且，B，那麼如果是這樣的話，為什麼今天要宣布這份合約？任何顏色都會有幫助。

Yeah. Andre, happy to take that question. So I think we've been pretty clear about what we expect for Neutron's launch cadence to be. So obviously, one test flight in the following year three, and then five and then continue seven and beyond.

是的。安德烈，很高興回答這個問題。所以我認為我們已經非常清楚我們對 Neutron 的發布節奏的期望。顯然，在接下來的第三年進行一次試飛，然後是第五年，然後繼續第七年及以後。

And that's following pretty much the same scaling rate as we saw -- that we could do with Electron. And quite frankly, I mean, if you look back through history, it's pretty difficult to see any examples of a scaling rate faster than that. So that kind of backs into real available slots.

這與我們看到的縮放率幾乎相同——我們可以使用 Electron 做到這一點。坦白說，我的意思是，如果你回顧歷史，很難看到任何擴展速度比這更快的例子。這樣就可以回到真正可用的插槽。

So as we're talking to customers, obviously, they want to know when is their launch slot because they have certain mission objectives from their end. Of course, we want to know are their spacecraft going to be ready. I think we've talked about this in the past.

因此，當我們與客戶交談時，顯然他們想知道他們的啟動時間是什麼時候，因為他們最終有特定的任務目標。當然，我們想知道他們的太空船是否準備就緒。我想我們過去已經討論過這個問題。

So it's really just a careful marry up of various customer requirements and also the launch slots that we've kind of made available to customers. And as we said on the call, we're very, very selective about those -- especially those early slots. We need to make sure that we're there on time, we need to make sure that they're on time. So we're kind of easing into that kind of gently.

因此，這實際上只是將各種客戶需求以及我們為客戶提供的發佈時段仔細結合。正如我們在電話會議上所說，我們對這些非常非常有選擇性——尤其是那些早期的時段。我們需要確保我們準時到達，我們需要確保他們準時到達。所以我們正在慢慢地進入這種狀態。

With respect to announcing it now, I think it's fairly material that once we start signing a Neutron contracts, I think it's been anticipated. So I think it was a material thing that we really would have to disclose.

關於現在宣布這一點，我認為一旦我們開始簽署 Neutron 合同，我認為這是相當重要的。所以我認為這是我們確實必須披露的重大事情。

Yeah. And I would add to that too, Andre, that we've talked about the fact that as you start to approach Neutron readiness, you think about a time frame of kind of 12 to 18 months where you want to have your customer lined up, because you got to, again, have this whole synchronization to make sure that the rocket is ready. There's a long time between signing a contract usually and getting the actual payload integrated and launched. So I think the timing roughly worked out to that.

是的。Andre，我還要補充一點，我們已經討論過這樣一個事實，即當您開始接近 Neutron 準備狀態時，您會考慮 12 到 18 個月的時間框架，您希望讓您的客戶排隊，因為您必須再次進行整個同步以確保火箭準備就緒。通常，從簽訂合約到整合和啟動實際有效負載之間需要很長時間。所以我認為時間安排大致就是這樣。

And then I also think it's important that what we've also said, and I think Pete has been very, very consistent in this, that we're not going to be selling heavily discounted Neutron launches just because it's a new vehicle. We bring a lot of heritage to this market because of the 54 successful launches that we've had with Electron.

然後我還認為重要的是我們也說過，我認為皮特在這方面一直非常非常一致，我們不會僅僅因為它是新車就以大幅折扣銷售中子發射。由於 Electron 已成功發布 54 次，我們為這個市場帶來了許多遺產。

And so it really did put us in a really good position to, again, not be out there kind of having to do heavily discounted launches just to gain credibility. So I think this was definitely an important milestone for the company to reach, and we're very happy to be able to announce that today.

因此，這確實讓我們處於一個非常有利的位置，不再需要為了獲得信譽而進行大幅折扣的發布。所以我認為這絕對是公司要達到的重要里程碑，我們很高興今天能夠宣布這一點。

Maybe just a quick follow-up, if I may. Can you maybe just remind us what are the outstanding maybe catalysts or milestones for the Neutron development that you think investors should be aware of? And additionally, maybe if you can give us a little more granularity on the hot fire test and the production of the additional engines there.

如果可以的話，也許只是快速跟進。您能否提醒我們您認為投資者應該注意的 Neutron 發展的突出催化劑或里程碑是什麼？此外，也許您能給我們更多有關熱火測試和額外引擎生產的詳細資訊。

Yeah, sure, Andre. The best way I'd like to explain it is -- and we tried to do a little bit of that in this presentation. But you need to think of it as three kind of pillars. One, you have launch infrastructure, and that's actually where the majority of the capital flows into. And the things that everybody should be watching there is stuff being built, quite simply, steel going in the ground, concrete being poured and things that look like a launch site.

是的，當然，安德烈。我想解釋這一點的最好方法是——我們試圖在本次演示中做一些這樣的事情。但你需要將其視為三種支柱。第一，你擁有啟動基礎設施，這實際上是大部分資本流入的地方。每個人都應該關注的事情是正在建造的東西，很簡單，鋼鐵入地，混凝土澆築以及看起來像發射場的東西。

Now thankfully, that's relatively easy to follow because it's sitting on the coast, and it's relatively easy to get information on that. And of course, we provide good updates. So that -- as long as steel is being built and shipped and the pellet lines are running and all the rest of it, then you can feel pretty good about that.

現在值得慶幸的是，這相對容易遵循，因為它坐落在海岸上，並且相對容易獲得相關資訊。當然，我們會提供良好的更新。因此，只要鋼鐵正在建造和運輸，顆粒生產線正在運作以及所有其他的事情，那麼你就可以對此感到非常滿意。

And then the second pillar is kind of structures. So you've seen full Stage two tanks and flight configurations running during wet dresses, fairings, first stage tanks. So as long as you keep seeing all those large structures, I think you can see that we're on track. And they will come together relatively late in the piece for an end-to-end wet dress rehearsal.

第二支柱是某種結構。所以你已經看到了完整的第二階段坦克和飛行配置在濕衣、整流罩、第一階段坦克中運行。因此，只要您繼續看到所有這些大型結構，我想您就可以看到我們正在走上正軌。他們將在作品中相對較晚的時間聚在一起進行端到端的濕裝排練。

And then with Archimedes, we're in a test and qualification campaign. So what we're doing with that engine is we're finding -- it's called a run box, basically, is we're finding all of the operational conditions of that engine and defining what they are.

然後，我們將與阿基米德一起進行測試和資格認證活動。所以我們對這個引擎所做的就是我們正在尋找——它被稱為運行箱，基本上，我們正​​在尋找該引擎的所有操作條件並定義它們是什麼。

So we have kind of a desired run box and then we'll have an actual run box. And what we're looking to do is changing various intake pressures, the propellants and various operating points and really understanding the engine and what kind of idiosyncrasies that it may or may not have.

所以我們有一個想要的運行箱，然後我們將有一個實際的運行箱。我們想要做的是改變各種進氣壓力、推進劑和各種工作點，並真正了解引擎以及它可能具有或不具有什麼樣的特性。

So the hot fire campaign reached a really important milestone last quarter where we put a production engine that was full of all production components, valves, hardware, software, and we took it to over 100% throttle level.

因此，上個季度的熱火活動達到了一個非常重要的里程碑，我們安裝了一個充滿所有生產組件、閥門、硬體、軟體的生產引擎，並將其達到超過 100% 的油門水平。

So I think that was a really important milestone. And working from that, it's just all about accumulating test time, putting the engine into unknown conditions and continue to evolve the engine and increase its performance over time.

所以我認為這是一個非常重要的里程碑。以此為基礎，一切都是為了累積測試時間，將引擎置於未知的條件下，並隨著時間的推移不斷改進引擎並提高其性能。

And I sort of made a comment in the script here that like an engine program, it's a long process. Yes, you can make fire and you can achieve kind of preliminary targets and milestones, but you're always looking to improve either manufacturing or performance or reliability of an engine over many, many years. So I think we're in a good spot, but those are the three things for folks to track.

我在這裡的腳本中做了一個評論，就像引擎程式一樣，這是一個漫長的過程。是的，你可以生火，你可以實現某種初步目標和里程碑，但多年來你總是尋求改進引擎的製造、性能或可靠性。所以我認為我們處於一個很好的位置，但這些是人們需要追蹤的三件事。

Edison Yu, Deutsche Bank.

於愛迪生，德意志銀行。

Congrats. I know you're not saying too much on the Neutron award, but maybe I could kind of ask from a different perspective. Can you provide any context in terms of what you won relative to -- if they -- the customer had already placed the launch with someone else and they switched to you?

恭喜。我知道你並沒有對中子獎說太多，但也許我可以從不同的角度來問。您能否提供任何背景信息，說明您相對於（如果他們）客戶已經將產品發布給其他人並且他們轉向您的情況？

Or do they have other kind of maybe like soft contracts out there with other launch providers? Just is this -- I know you're saying you could launch whole thing. Just some context around currently, what is the piece that you have?

或者他們是否與其他發射提供者有其他類似的軟合約？就是這樣——我知道你是說你可以推出整個專案。目前僅提供一些背景信息，您擁有的作品是什麼？

Yeah. I mean, look, we probably can't say too much, but it's a customer that we know. And as I mentioned, we were very strategic in these -- especially these early launches about who we want to almost essentially partner with on these early contracts.

是的。我的意思是，看，我們可能不能說太多，但這是我們認識的客戶。正如我所提到的，我們在這些方面非常具有戰略意義，尤其是在這些早期發布的產品中，我們希望在這些早期合約上與誰合作。

So look, I mean, it's not my business to get into their kind of business. But needless to say, we were happy with that particular customer, and it's a good customer for the stage and phase of the program.

所以，我的意思是，涉足他們的業務不關我的事。但不用說，我們對那個特定的客戶感到滿意，並且對於該計劃的階段和階段來說，這是一個很好的客戶。

And Edison, maybe can add a little more context to that. So as we've talked about in the past, there just are not that many companies in our space that have executed and are in a position to launch with any level of confidence. So you've got the added dynamic that there's a range of customers out there who also have payloads that compete with some of the other launch providers. And at this point, we feel probably more comfortable launching with somebody they don't necessarily compete with. So I think that plays into a lot of the discussions that we have.

愛迪生也許可以為此添加更多背景資訊。因此，正如我們過去談到的那樣，在我們的領域中，沒有多少公司已經執行並有能力以任何程度的信心啟動。因此，你會得到額外的動態，即有一系列客戶也擁有與其他一些發射提供者競爭的有效載荷。在這一點上，我們可能更願意與他們不一定與之競爭的人一起推出。所以我認為這會影響我們的許多討論。

And I would say that the market remains pretty robust as far as demand is concerned. When you look at the people that have capacity, a lot of that capacity has been spoken for. So really, we think Neutron is coming to market at a great time where we're really filling a new need for incremental capacity, and we're doing it in a way that's really noncompetitive and non-threatening with those customers. So just a lot of the stars are starting to align on that for us with regards to Neutron.

我想說，就需求而言，市場仍然相當強勁。當你觀察那些有能力的人時，你會發現很多能力都已經被體現了。因此，實際上，我們認為 Neutron 進入市場的時機非常好，我們確實滿足了對增量容量的新需求，而且我們的做法對這些客戶來說確實是非競爭性和非威脅性的。因此，在中子方面，許多明星開始為我們達成一致。

Then a follow-up question a bit longer term. Obviously, you've got Frank on board now, and he comes from the automotive industry. And curious if you could maybe dimension the kind of scale you're looking for. Obviously, automotive is orders of magnitude higher scale than aerospace. Is Frank really coming onboard to kind of take you to that a much, much, much higher level or more to kind of get the existing backlog up to speed?

然後是一個更長期的後續問題。顯然，弗蘭克現在已經加入了，他來自汽車行業。很好奇您是否可以確定您正在尋找的那種規模。顯然，汽車的規模比航空航太大幾個數量級。弗蘭克的加入真的是為了帶你達到更高的水平，還是讓現有的積壓工作加快速度？

Yeah. Look, a bit of both, Edison. And we have some components that are at low scale, like Mars spacecraft are never going to be produced at high scale. And then we have other things like reaction wheels where we produced thousands a year off. But the one thing about production, and I can attest this is that, it all looks the same, whether you're building a car or a spacecraft or a rocket, the production fundamentals are always the same.

是的。聽著，兩者都有一點，愛迪生。我們有一些小規模的組件，例如火星太空船永遠不會大規模生產。然後我們還有其他東西，像是反作用輪，我們每年生產數千個。但關於生產的一件事，我可以證明的是，一切看起來都是一樣的，無論你是在製造汽車、太空船還是火箭，生產的基本原理總是相同的。

Now yes, of course, the numbers that roll off the end of the production line differ, but all the manufacturing techniques and good practices remain the same. And we've done a great job here, and the team has done an amazing job here at scaling.

當然，現在生產線末端的數字有所不同，但所有製造技術和良好實踐仍然相同。我們在這裡做得很好，團隊在擴展方面也做得非常出色。

But as we look to move even further up that curve, having bringing someone on with just such deep experience, not just within production and production scaling, but within operations, it was just kind of the right time for the company to create that position.

但當我們希望進一步沿著這條曲線前進時，聘請具有如此豐富經驗的人，不僅在生產和生產規模方面，而且在營運方面，這對公司來說是創建該職位的正確時機。

Matt Akers, Wells Fargo.

馬特·埃克斯，富國銀行。

I wanted to ask about space services you guys kind of teased on Slide 4. Just curious, I know you don't want to reveal what that could look like yet, but just curious what kind of time frame you had in mind. It seems like kind of the Phase 1 and 2 are in pretty good shape.

我想問一下你們在投影片 4 上嘲笑的太空服務。只是好奇，我知道你還不想透露那會是什麼樣子，只是好奇你心裡有什麼樣的時間框架。看起來第一階段和第二階段的狀況相當不錯。

So I guess to move to Phase 3, I mean, do we need to get Neutron sort of at a higher production cadence? Are there may be more parts of the portfolio to fill in? Just curious how you think of kind of the timing there.

所以我想進入第三階段，我的意思是，我們是否需要以更高的生產節奏獲得 Neutron？作品集是否還有更多部分需要填寫？只是好奇你如何看待那裡的時機。

Yeah. Thanks, Matt. So look, everything is irrelevant without a reusable high cadence launch. So Neutron is really the key to unlocking that. And if you look at Starlink, it's a good example, it's a great spacecraft. But actually, the thing that has really made that possible is a high cadence, low-cost launch.

是的。謝謝，馬特。所以看，如果沒有可重複使用的高節奏發射，一切都是無關緊要的。所以 Neutron 確實是解鎖這個問題的關鍵。如果你看看星鏈，它就是一個很好的例子，它是一個很棒的太空船。但實際上，真正使這成為可能的是高節奏、低成本的發射。

And that in turn is made possible by a reusable launch vehicle. So until Neutron is flying at some level of cadence, it's kind of academic to talk about deploying constellations.

而這又是透過可重複使用的運載火箭來實現的。因此，在中子以某種節奏飛行之前，談論部署星座有點學術性。

And just curious on this Neutron deal or maybe just Neutron in general, thoughts on kind of what the progress payment maybe looks like on that. Just curious, I guess, one, if there's maybe some lumpiness in cash flow around that just because those are pretty big dollar items. And also just how we should think about kind of the advanced payments versus kind of working capital aspect as that program ramps up?

只是對 Neutron 交易或一般的 Neutron 交易感到好奇，想知道進度付款可能會是什麼樣子。我想，第一，只是好奇，是否因為這些都是相當大的美元項目，現金流可能會出現一些波動。隨著該計劃的推進，我們應該如何考慮預付款與營運資金的關係？

Yeah. I can take that one, Pete. So each -- we have a fairly standard launch services agreement that we've obviously used many times with Electron, and we're leveraging most of that forward on Neutron. And you're right that building this Neutron vehicle, it will be a challenging working capital cycle, at least initially, particularly when you think about the context here of reusability, right?

是的。我可以接受那個，皮特。因此，我們都有一個相當標準的發射服務協議，顯然我們已經在 Electron 上使用過很多次，並且我們在 Neutron 上利用了大部分協議。你是對的，建造這種中子飛行器，這將是一個具有挑戰性的營運資金週期，至少在最初是這樣，特別是當你考慮到這裡可重用性的背景時，對嗎？

So I think we've never said that we plan to basically have a fully reusable vehicle for the first launch. So as we kind of work our way towards full reusability, we'll be getting more kind of benefits from a working capital perspective as we do that. But the first few launches here are certainly going to be cash consuming.

所以我認為我們從來沒有說過我們計劃在第一次發射時基本上擁有一個完全可重複使用的車輛。因此，當我們努力實現完全可重複使用性時，我們將從營運資本的角度獲得更多好處。但這裡的前幾次發布肯定會消耗現金。

So you can think about the structure. Most -- these LSAs have a deposit and then there's milestone payments. And if you look at our Electron business, typically, we've collected about 60% of the contract value by the time we actually start building the rocket.

所以你可以考慮一下結構。大多數——這些 LSA 都有押金，然後還有里程碑付款。如果你看看我們的 Electron 業務，通常情況下，當我們實際開始建造火箭時，我們已經收取了大約 60% 的合約價值。

This might be a little bit different because it's -- we're at the very early stages of kind of coming -- transitioning from R&D into production. But you can think of Neutron should look very, very, very similar to what we've kind of disclosed and kind of produced in our results as we have with Electron. So nothing too unusual with this one. It just it's the first few rockets out of the shoot. So kind of we got to go through that transition period.

這可能有點不同，因為我們正處於從研發過渡到生產的早期階段。但你可以認為 Neutron 應該看起來非常、非常、非常類似於我們在結果中所揭露的和產生的結果，就像我們在 Electron 中所做的那樣。所以這並沒有什麼太不尋常的地方。這只是最初的幾枚火箭。所以我們必須經歷那個過渡期。

And as we experienced also on Electron, Electron came out initially with not kind of target margins, obviously. But as we kind of build towards that, I think that there's a combination of -- the fact that we'll be collecting payments against milestones in the contracts, but also getting production efficiencies and ultimately reusability, which is the real key to kind of getting Neutron to its target model, which we think will look very similar to the long-term model for Electron. So hopefully, that gives you a little bit of context.

正如我們在 Electron 上所經歷的那樣，Electron 最初的推出顯然並沒有達到目標利潤。但當我們朝著這個目標邁進時，我認為這是一個組合——事實上，我們將根據合約中的里程碑收取付款，但同時也會提高生產效率和最終的可重用性，這是實現這一目標的真正關鍵。希望這能為您提供一些背景資訊。

Erik Rasmussen, Stifel.

艾瑞克·拉斯穆森，斯蒂菲爾。

Congrats on the progress with Neutron. Maybe just on that subject, Neutron, I know it's not a lot you want to really share at this time, but are you replacing anyone? Or are you being brought on to sort of as another alternative just because of like Adam, you said, there's a number of medium rockets that are in the market or that will be potentially in the market in the coming years. But is this just sort of, you think, a hedge because you guys are a lot closer than some others?

祝賀 Neutron 的進展。也許就在這個主題上，Neutron，我知道你現在不想真正分享的東西很多，但你會替換任何人嗎？或者你是否只是因為像亞當一樣被帶入另一種選擇，你說，市場上有許多中型火箭，或者未來幾年可能會出現在市場上。但你認為這只是一種對沖，因為你們比其他人更親近嗎？

Yeah. I think with respect to kind of commercial contracts and in some cases, we're definitely replacing. I would say that, Erik, in the NSSL world, it's bringing on new providers. I think if you look at the last NSSL Lane 1 Phase 3 award, 100% of that award went to one particular launch provider because there was nobody else. So in some cases, it's replacing and in some cases, it's just being brought as a new alternative.

是的。我認為就商業合約而言，在某些情況下，我們肯定會更換。我想說，Erik，在 NSSL 世界中，它正在引入新的提供者。我認為，如果你看一下上一次 NSSL Lane 1 Phase 3 獎項，你會發現該獎項 100% 授予了一個特定的發射提供商，因為沒有其他人了。因此，在某些情況下，它正在取代，而在某些情況下，它只是作為新的替代品而出現。

And then you stated that the ASPs, you're going to be pretty firm on pricing. Is that the $50 million to $55 million that you initially talked about, and that's sort of where things have settled maybe for these two dedicated missions? And it says you're starting in mid-'26, would both of those potentially happen in '26? Or how should we think about sort of timing, assuming you do meet the mid-2025 for your first test launch?

然後您表示，ASP 將在定價上非常堅定。這就是您最初談到的 5000 萬至 5500 萬美元嗎？它說你要在 26 年中期開始，這兩者都可能發生在 26 年嗎？或者，假設您確實在 2025 年中期進行首次測試發布，我們應該如何考慮時間表？

Yeah. I mean the launch pricing, as we pointed out, is -- that was a really important thing for us. And I think as I've said, I made -- well, I kind of had to, but with Electron, it took us years to flush out bad contracts with respect to ASP.

是的。我的意思是，正如我們所指出的，發布定價對我們來說非常重要。我認為正如我所說，我做了——嗯，我有點不得不這樣做，但是對於 Electron，我們花了很多年的時間才消除了 ASP 方面的不良合約。

So no, this contract is in line with our previously discussed ASP for Neutron. And then on the -- we're selling real slots with real launch windows, so we kind of somewhat at the request of the customer. So the '26 time frames for those launches are the customers driven requests.

所以不，這份合約符合我們之前討論的 Neutron 的 ASP。然後，我們正在銷售帶有真實啟動窗口的真實老虎機，所以我們在某種程度上是應客戶的要求。因此，這些發布的 26 年時間範圍是客戶驅動的請求。

Got you. And maybe just staying with launch. You're sitting at 12 launches year-to-date. You previously gave a range of 15 to 18. You have another one slotted in the coming weeks at the earliest. You would need sort of four in this quarter to get to the bottom of that range.

明白你了。也許只是停留在發布階段。今年迄今為止，您已經進行了 12 次發布。您之前給出的範圍是 15 到 18。最早在接下來的幾週內你還會安排另一場比賽。本季度您需要大約四個才能達到該範圍的底部。

But do you still feel like that's a viable range for you, the 15 to 18 where we sit today? I appreciate you're not giving specific guidance but I just want to get a sense of your confidence level on that prior guidance for 15 to 18.

但你仍然覺得這對你來說是一個可行的範圍，即我們今天坐的 15 到 18 歲嗎？感謝您沒有提供具體指導，但我只是想了解您對 15 至 18 歲之前指導的信心程度。

Well, I mean, if you recall at the start of the year, we thought we're going to do 22, but that -- so I'm always a little bit gun-shy these days. But no, I think we've got certainly a very busy fourth quarter. And at this stage, the customers are looking good. So I think we'll be within that range.

好吧，我的意思是，如果你還記得今年年初的話，我們以為我們會做 22 個，但是 - 所以這些天我總是有點害羞。但不，我認為我們的第四季肯定非常忙碌。在這個階段，客戶看起來不錯。所以我認為我們會在這個範圍內。

And then just on the NSSL, I just want to clarify, the RFPs opened up pretty recently in the last 2 weeks. Does that mean you'll be available for this particular one? Or it's the next cycle because of the time frame of Neutron at the earliest of mid-'25?

關於 NSSL，我只想澄清一下，RFP 在過去兩週內剛剛開放。這是否意味著您可以參加這項特定的活動？或者因為 Neutron 的時間框架最早是在 25 年中期，所以這是下一個週期？

Yeah. The way it works is that you have to demonstrate you can launch in '25 to be on-ramped. And then once you're on-ramped, then you'll bid for various task orders. So there'll be -- there's kind of -- the task order is separate from the on-ramp and those task orders are released at the times that the NSSL or the Space Force decides to.

是的。它的運作方式是，你必須證明你可以在 25 年啟動才能進入市場。然後一旦你進入，你就會對各種任務訂單進行投標。因此，任務訂單與入口是分開的，這些任務訂單是在 NSSL 或太空部隊決定的時間發布的。

I think, Eric, I think what we're saying that even though we'll be on-ramping in 2025, we wouldn't be awarded any contracts for launch in 2025. And right now, we're planning one test launch in 2025. We're talking about three launches in 2026 and then we talked about five launches in 2027.

我認為，艾瑞克，我認為我們所說的是，即使我們將在 2025 年啟動，我們也不會獲得任何 2025 年啟動的合約。目前，我們計劃在 2025 年進行一次測試發射。我們討論了 2026 年的三次發射，然後我們討論了 2027 年的五項發射。

And given kind of the discussion that we've had previously about the first customer for Neutron that we announced today, that's obviously consuming some of that capacity in 2026. So the most likely scenario is could you see something in 2026 for NSSL? It's a possibility, but it's probably not the most likely scenario. That probably looks more like a 2027, but never say never.

鑑於我們之前就今天宣布的第一個 Neutron 客戶進行的討論，這顯然會在 2026 年消耗部分產能。所以最有可能的情況是你能在 2026 年看到 NSSL 的一些成果嗎？這是一種可能性，但可能不是最有可能發生的情況。這可能看起來更像是 2027 年，但永遠不要說永遠。

And then just one last thing on the backlog and clarification. The $326 million for launch, does that include this latest award win for the two for Neutron?

然後是關於積壓和澄清的最後一件事。發射費用為 3.26 億美元，這是否包括兩人因 Neutron 而獲得的最新獎項？

No, it does not because that was Q3 ending, and this contract was signed post the end of Q3. So it will show up in our Q4 backlog.

不，不是因為那是第三季結束時，而這份合約是在第三季結束後簽署的。所以它將出現在我們第四季的積壓工作中。

Suji Desilva, ROTH Capital.

蘇吉·德西爾瓦，羅仕資本。

Congrats on the progress and the Neutron success here. The gross margin improvement here, Adam, is that the relative contribution between Launch and Space Systems sequentially in 3Q and 4Q relatively even? And can you give an update on the solar gross margin improvement, is there a tailwind still there?

祝賀這裡的進展和 Neutron 的成功。Adam，這裡的毛利率改善是指發射系統和航太系統在第三季和第四季的相對貢獻相對均勻嗎？您能否介紹一下太陽能毛利率改善的最新情況？

So the gross margin percentages are actually pretty close across -- I mean, they're pretty consistent across Launch and Space Systems right now. That's just a function of kind of, again, where we are in the margin improvement path for the launch part of the business and then just kind of where we are on mix within Space Systems.

因此，毛利率百分比實際上非常接近——我的意思是，目前發射系統和太空系統的毛利率百分比非常一致。這只是我們在業務啟動部分的利潤改善路徑中所處的函數，然後是我們在空間系統內混合的函數。

So if you look at the mix of our business being roughly 70% Space Systems, 30% launch, I mean, I think kind of gives you -- it's all proportional. So you just take the percentage of the business times the same rough margin calculation and just apply it.

因此，如果你看看我們的業務組合，大約 70% 是太空系統，30% 是發射，我的意思是，我認為這給了你——這都是成比例的。因此，您只需將業務百分比乘以相同的粗略利潤計算並應用即可。

Okay. And then on solar, Adam, does that remain a tailwind?

好的。那麼在太陽能方面，亞當，這仍然是順風嗎？

So solar has actually been progressing. It's a little bit slower than we thought. We've talked about that on some prior calls where we expected to be at target margins within, which was we said a 30% non-GAAP gross margin for that business within two years of the acquisition. So we acquired that business in early 2022. So we're a bit behind, but it's -- we're making steady progress.

所以太陽能其實一直在進步。比我們想像的慢一點。我們在之前的一些電話會議上已經討論過這一點，我們預計該業務的利潤率將在收購後兩年內達到 30% 的非 GAAP 毛利率。因此我們在 2022 年初收購了該業務。所以我們有點落後，但我們正在穩步進步。

I would say when we look at our backlog for that business, we are really not booking. I can't remember the last time, maybe Pete can correct me, I can't remember the last time that we've actually booked business lower than our target gross margin.

我想說，當我們查看該業務的積壓訂單時，我們確實沒有預訂。我不記得上次我們實際預訂的業務低於我們的目標毛利率是什麼時候，也許皮特可以糾正我。

So it's all about kind of replacing, flushing out some of that older -- in fact, there's really just one bad contract in the mix that we inherited. Unfortunately, it was a large part of the -- and I think it was almost $100 million of the $150 million backlog at deal close that came along that was basically essentially zero margin.

所以這一切都是為了替換，淘汰一些舊的——事實上，我們繼承的合約中實際上只有一份糟糕的合約。不幸的是，我認為交易結束時 1.5 億美元積壓訂單中的近 1 億美元基本上是零利潤。

So as we build the new business at target margins or better, that's starting to flow through now, and we're seeing that come through in a little bit more profound way. And so I think we all have actually probably more conviction now about getting to that 30% better target gross margin for that business. It's just taken us a little bit longer.

因此，當我們以目標利潤率或更高的水平建立新業務時，這種情況現在就開始發生，而且我們看到這種情況以更深刻的方式發生。因此，我認為我們現在實際上可能更有信心實現該業務 30% 的更高毛利率目標。只是我們花了一點時間。

And so I think it's also not too dissimilar to our launch business, where it's a very kind of fixed cost-oriented business. So when you have a good quarter where you're shipping a lot more product, you get the benefit of that overhead absorption. And so as we mentioned earlier, and we mentioned in our prepared remarks, the solar business was particularly strong in Q3.

因此，我認為這與我們的發射業務也沒有太大不同，這是以固定成本為導向的業務。因此，當您在一個良好的季度運輸更多產品時，您就會從間接費用吸收中受益。正如我們之前提到的，以及我們在準備好的發言中提到的，太陽能業務在第三季特別強勁。

And then my other question is on the launch business. I understand that Neutron is going to add to the backlog this quarter, but Electron growing $55 million. I'm just wondering what that -- how that compares to the last few quarters. Is that kind of in a range? Or is it accelerating? And what the drivers if it is accelerating are? Is it ASP trending up? Or any color there would be helpful.

我的另一個問題是關於發射業務。據我所知，Neutron 本季的積壓訂單數量將增加，但 Electron 的訂單增加了 5,500 萬美元。我只是想知道那是什麼——與過去幾個季度相比如何。是在一個範圍內嗎？或者說它正在加速？如果它正在加速，驅動因素是什麼？ASP有上升趨勢嗎？或任何顏色都會有幫助。

Go ahead Pete.

繼續吧，皮特。

I'll have a crack and you can maybe add a bit more color as well. So launch is lumpy, like actually launching the rockets is lumpy, so is the contracts. And we can go a quarter without signing anything. So as far as historical kind of look backs, I mean, certainly, this has been a good quarter for Electron, but it tends to be pretty lumpy throughout.

我會有一個裂縫，你也可以添加更多的顏色。所以發射是不穩定的，就像實際發射火箭是不穩定的一樣，合約也是如此。我們可以在不簽署任何東西的情況下進行四分之一。因此，就歷史回顧而言，我的意思是，這對 Electron 來說當然是一個不錯的季度，但整個季度往往相當不穩定。

Yeah. And if you look at -- certainly, we booked more launches. And again, as Pete said, it's lumpy because we're chasing bigger multi-launch agreements. But also the ASP has been very supportive. So I mentioned earlier that the average selling price for 2024 for Electron works out to be about $7.5 million per launch.

是的。如果你看一下——當然，我們預訂了更多的發射。而且，正如皮特所說，它是不穩定的，因為我們正在追求更大的多次發布協議。但 ASP 也給予了大力支持。因此，我之前提到，Electron 2024 年的平均售價約為每次發布 750 萬美元。

And we've also talked on previous calls that our total backlog for Electron is priced at around $8.2 million ASP. So we're actually -- we're doing better on booking at higher prices so that we're having a beneficial ASP mix effect. And that's obviously helping contribute to the backlog growth, but also to what we believe is kind of a nice steady progress towards our target margins for that Electron business.

我們還在之前的電話會議中談過，我們 Electron 的總積壓訂單價格約為 820 萬美元的平均售價。所以我們實際上——我們在以更高的價格預訂方面做得更好，這樣我們就可以產生有利的平均售價混合效應。這顯然有助於積壓訂單的成長，我們認為，這也有助於我們朝著 Electron 業務的目標利潤率穩步邁進。

Andre Madrid, BTIG.

安德烈·馬德里，BTIG。

I know we kind of danced around it, but I wanted to just ask more specifically, how much was total Neutron development cost in 3Q? I know previously, you said about $160 million for the year or about $40 million a quarter. And also, like is that kind of still an appropriate target looking all in?

我知道我們有點繞著它跳舞，但我想更具體地問一下，第三季的 Neutron 開發總成本是多少？我知道之前您說過全年約 1.6 億美元，或每季約 4,000 萬美元。而且，這仍然是一個合適的目標嗎？

Yeah, I'm scrolling at the number right now. Yeah. No, this -- in Q3, it was total -- well, you have to split out between the different elements. But if you look at total net spend for Neutron across OpEx and CapEx, it was just a hair under $44 million.

是的，我現在正在滾動查看號碼。是的。不，這——在第三季度，它是全部——嗯，你必須在不同的元素之間進行劃分。但如果你看看 Neutron 在營運支出和資本支出方面的總淨支出，你會發現它只略低於 4,400 萬美元。

But I think that -- and that's going to step up as we continue to get towards the first launch. So that's why this first launch of Neutron is so important for us because that really has such a tremendous impact on the P&L, right, where we have all of this cost right now just hitting R&D.

但我認為，隨著我們繼續邁向首次發布，這一點將會加強。這就是為什麼 Neutron 的首次推出對我們如此重要，因為這確實對損益產生了巨大的影響，對吧，我們現在所有這些成本都只涉及研發。

Once you get past that first test launch and you carry the first paying customer, everything flips over, you've got now R&D associated with it, cost of sales and so forth. So it's a super important thing for us to get that first launch off because it kind of caps that initial spend because you'll have minimum viable product both in the rocket and on the infrastructure side of the house.

一旦你通過了第一次測試發布並擁有了第一個付費客戶，一切都會翻轉，你現在有了與之相關的研發、銷售成本等等。因此，對我們來說，完成第一次發射是一件非常重要的事情，因為這會限制初始支出，因為你將在火箭和房屋基礎設施方面擁有最低限度的可行產品。

And so I think probably along with that, we still feel very, very comfortable that we're within our target original budget for Neutron. And if you think about -- we talked -- this is going back when we came public three years ago now, a little over three years ago, we said it was going to take roughly 3, 4 years and cost $250 million to $300 million.

因此，我認為可能同時，我們仍然感到非常非常放心，我們在 Neutron 的原始目標預算之內。如果你想想——我們談到過——這可以追溯到三年前我們上市時，大約三年前，我們說這將需要大約 3、4 年的時間，耗資 2.5 億至 3 億美元。

And we put that in pretty stark contrast to what some other kind of medium and larger launch vehicles have cost the many, many billions of dollars and taken the better part of a decade to get to first launch. So we feel like we're on track, and we're going to kind of set a new benchmark for capital efficiency and timing of getting a new launch vehicle to the pad.

我們將此與其他類型的中型和大型運載火箭形成鮮明對比，這些火箭花費了數十億美元，並且花了十年的時間才完成首次發射。因此，我們感覺我們已經走上了正軌，我們將為資本效率和新運載火箭發射升空的時間設定一個新的基準。

Got it. And if I could squeeze in one more. Could you maybe highlight backlog at some of the non-Photon space systems businesses like PSC, Sinclair? I mean, how is expansion and acquiring more business progressed at that line of business?

知道了。如果我能再擠進一張就好了。您能否強調一些非光子太空系統業務（如 PSC、Sinclair）的積壓訂單？我的意思是，該業務線的擴張和收購更多業務進展如何？

Yeah. Those businesses continue to grow at a pretty healthy clip. If you look at our target growth for the components business within Space Systems is around 20%. And we feel very comfortable. We've been delivering better than, considerably better than that in some parts of our business.

是的。這些業務繼續以相當健康的速度成長。如果你看看我們 Space Systems 內部元件業務的目標成長約為 20%。我們感覺很舒服。在我們業務的某些部分，我們的表現一直比以前好得多。

I would say that of our components businesses, Sinclair's probably had experienced the most recent growth. And that's driven by the mega constellation reaction wheel contract that we've talked about in the past that has been starting to ship.

我想說，在我們的零件業務中，辛克萊的業務可能經歷了最近的成長。這是由我們過去討論過的巨型星座反應輪合約驅動的，該合約已經開始發貨。

But we've seen strength across all of that. If you take it in aggregate, we kind of look at it across all of it. And when you look at our merchant business or the components business, there's really two pieces to that. There's the merchant components that we sell into other spacecraft manufacturers, and then there's the integrated or vertically integrated supply element where we're now supplying our own feed, if you will, into these spacecraft manufacturing projects that we've won, like SDA and like the MDA Globalstar.

但我們已經看到了這一切的力量。如果你把它放在一起，我們就會從整體上看待它。當你看看我們的商業業務或零件業務時，你會發現這實際上分為兩個部分。我們向其他太空船製造商出售商業組件，然後是整合或垂直整合的供應元素，如果你願意的話，我們現在可以向我們贏得的這些太空船製造項目（例如 SDA 和例如 MDA Globalstar。

So it's really kind of -- the growth is fueled not only by overall macro growth in the broader merchant market, but also from our own internal consumption as well. So we feel really good about continuing a 20% CAGR for that business. I think some will be stronger than those, right?

所以這確實是——成長不僅受到更廣泛的商業市場的整體宏觀成長的推動，而且也來自我們自己的內部消費。因此，我們對該業務繼續保持 20% 的複合年增長率感到非常滿意。我想有些人會比那些人更強，對嗎？

Like this year, I said we're having more strength in Sinclair, and that probably continues through next year. And then as we look forward into 2025 and '26 based on a lot of these big programs, we're going to have very good years for our solar too, because we're dedicating a significant amount of our capacity to internal programs.

就像今年一樣，我說過辛克萊的實力更強，這種情況可能會持續到明年。然後，當我們基於許多此類大型專案展望 2025 年和 26 年時，我們的太陽能也將迎來非常好的年份，因為我們將大量產能投入內部專案。

And overall, it actually has a very healthy kind of road map, I would say, for gross margin as well. If you look at the components or subsystems business, that's kind of in the -- already in the, I'll call it, low to mid-40s non-GAAP gross margin. And we think there's some upside to that.

總的來說，我想說，它實際上也有一個非常健康的毛利率路線圖。如果你看看組件或子系統業務，你會發現，這已經是我所說的 40 多歲左右的非 GAAP 毛利率了。我們認為這有一些好處。

And then there's just the kind of a little bit of the offset where you have these bigger program gross margin models that are kind of more towards, call it, 30%. So you've got that blending effect there. But we feel really good about all the elements of that subsystem business.

然後有一點點的抵消，你有這些更大的項目毛利率模型，更接近 30%。所以你就得到了混合效果。但我們對該子系統業務的所有要素都感覺非常好。

And since you brought it up, what's the mix between what goes in-house for components versus what's delivered as a merchant supplier? And do you guys have a target mix for Space Systems, I guess?

既然您提出了這個問題，那麼內部組件與商業供應商提供的組件之間有什麼區別？我猜你們有太空系統的目標組合嗎？

Yeah, that's a good question. I don't have that data at the tip of my fingers, and I don't really want to try to guess on that. I mean, I think for some of the businesses, we have a little bit more visibility. So I'd say, for example, I think in our solar business, I think our internal capacity consumption right now is probably only about 10%. So 90% is going out to the merchant market to a lot of the people that sell into the national security market for these exquisite systems.

是的，這是一個好問題。我手頭上沒有這些數據，我也不想嘗試猜測。我的意思是，我認為對於某些企業來說，我們有更多的知名度。所以我想說，例如，我認為在我們的太陽能業務中，我認為我們現在的內部產能消耗可能只有10%左右。因此，90% 的產品進入商業市場，向國家安全市場銷售這些精緻的系統。

When you look at the separation systems business, for example, we sell much more externally than we consume internally, just a fact because it's one of the most predominant separation systems that flies on basically all rockets. So it really is a mix. But that's a good question. We can certainly follow up offline and see if we can get you a more kind of concrete answer to that.

例如，當你觀察分離系統業務時，我們的外部銷售量比內部消耗量多得多，這是事實，因為它是基本上在所有火箭上飛行的最主要的分離系統之一。所以這確實是一個混合體。但這是一個好問題。我們當然可以在線下跟進，看看是否能為您提供更具體的答案。

Jason Gursky, Citi.

賈森古爾斯基，花旗銀行。

Pete, I want to have you just walk us all through, if you don't mind, one more time, why it is that we have to do 1-3- and 5. And if there isn't an opportunity to go a little faster here, you suggest that history would suggest with others, you got to do it that way. But why is that the case?

皮特，如果你不介意的話，我想讓你再給我們講一遍，為什麼我們必須做 1-3- 和 5。如果這裡沒有機會走得更快一點，你建議歷史會向其他人建議，你必須這樣做。但為什麼會這樣呢？

And Adam, you talked about throwing CapEx -- some more CapEx coming into the mix here. Is this something we could throw some capital at and speed things up a bit?

亞當，你談到了放棄資本支出——更多的資本支出也加入其中。我們可以為此投入一些資金並加快速度嗎？

Jason, you asked the question that Adam ask me every day. And there's some things that you can throw as much capital as you want, but until you fly, you can only learn a certain number of things. And look, 1-3-5 is a pretty good scaling rate at best. And fundamentally, you fly your first rocket and you do the best job that you think you can. There's a whole lot of stuff you can test on the ground and then there's a whole lot of stuff you can't test on the ground.

傑森，你問了亞當每天問我的問題。而且有些東西你想投入多少資本就可以投入多少，但在你飛起來之前，你只能學到一定數量的東西。看，1-3-5 充其量只是一個相當不錯的縮放比例。從根本上說，你駕駛了第一枚火箭，並且盡了自己的努力。有很多東西你可以在地面上測試，但也有很多東西你不能在地面上測試。

And it's just -- well, obviously, forward builders as many of the components that we think in many of the systems and the structures as we can. But you can find yourself just in a dead end pretty quickly. But it also -- it just takes time to scale the production line. And we've tried to front-end load it as best we can with the engine production line.

很明顯，它是我們在許多系統和結構中盡可能多地考慮的組件。但你很快就會發現自己陷入了死胡同。但擴大生產線也需要時間。我們已經嘗試透過引擎生產線盡可能地對其進行前端加載。

Generally, the engines are the longest pole in the tent from a production perspective. So we've really leaned into that. So hopefully, we can do better. But it just takes time to put one on the pad and commission it and learn from it and then roll those iterations into the next vehicle.

一般來說，從生產角度來看，引擎是帳篷中最長的桿子。所以我們真的很傾向於這一點。所以希望我們能做得更好。但將一個放在墊子上並進行調試並從中學習，然後將這些迭代推廣到下一輛車中只是需要時間。

And we're flying customers' payloads. So everything has to be very methodically thought through and every change is well qualified to reach that cadence. I guess, it might be a slightly different story if you had no customers and you just threw everything at it and had a different risk posture.

我們正在運送客戶的有效載荷。因此，一切都必須經過非常有條理的思考，並且每一次改變都必須達到這種節奏。我想，如果你沒有客戶，而你只是全力以赴並採取不同的風險態勢，那麼情況可能會略有不同。

But we're looking to get into commercial operations as quickly as we can. So when you're flying a customer, you can't just kind of be fast and loose. You have to be very methodical in any of the changes that you roll in. And we just don't want to be unrealistic with what's been -- what can tangibly be delivered.

但我們希望盡快進入商業運營。因此，當您為客戶提供飛行服務時，您不能只是快速而鬆散。你必須非常有條理地進行任何改變。我們只是不想對已經發生的事情——可以實際交付的事情變得不切實際。

But Jason, I'll be asking Pete that question every day going forward as well. So we'll leave it at that.

但是傑森，今後我也會每天問皮特這個問題。所以我們就這樣吧。

Yeah. If you can do it on my behalf. I appreciate that. And then, Pete, look, 1, 3 and 5, okay? So you've got six launches, one's a test. But as you look at the pipeline, I mean, over that time period, if you had more capacity, is there more demand out there? I just want to -- and maybe strip out the national security launch just on the commercial side of things. I'm just trying to get a better gauge of supply and demand equilibrium.

是的。如果你能代表我做的話。我很欣賞這一點。然後，皮特，看，1、3 和 5，好嗎？所以你有六次發射，其中一次是測試。但當你觀察管道時，我的意思是，在這段時間內，如果你有更多的產能，是否會有更多的需求？我只是想 - 也許只是在商業方面取消國家安全發射。我只是想更好地衡量供需平衡。

Yeah. Well, I mean that's the fundamental reason why you're asking this question, Adam asks this question, everybody asks this question is how can we scale faster and indeed customers. But the worst thing you can do is promise a customer that you're going to be able to provide a whole bunch of launch.

是的。嗯，我的意思是，這就是你問這個問題的根本原因，亞當問這個問題，每個人都問這個問題是我們如何更快地擴大規模，確實是客戶。但你能做的最糟糕的事情就是向客戶承諾你將能夠提供大量的發布服務。

They make a big commitment to you and then you don't deliver because that's just -- it plays havoc with their business. So that's not good for their business or long-term relationships or quite, frankly, our reputation.

他們向你做出了重大承諾，但你卻沒有兌現，因為這對他們的業務造成了嚴重破壞。因此，這不利於他們的業務或長期關係，或者坦白說，也不利於我們的聲譽。

So of all the things we worry about, and I think we've said before, demand is not one of them. We worry more about how fast can we scale the Neutron rather than are there customers there to fly on it for sure.

因此，在我們擔心的所有事情中，我想我們之前已經說過，需求並不是其中之一。我們更擔心的是我們能以多快的速度擴展 Neutron，而不是是否有客戶可以使用它。

Then last one for me. I'm just kind of curious, we've got a new administration coming to town. Let's see here. I guess, what policy statements have you heard to date that either have you encouraged or are giving you a little bit of pause? And what would you suggest we hear on the outside kind of pay attention to here as this transition happens? What are you going to be looking for and looking to hear from the new administration?

然後最後一張給我。我只是有點好奇，我們有一個新的政府來到城裡。讓我們看看這裡。我想，到目前為止，您聽過哪些政策聲明讓您感到鼓勵或讓您有點猶豫？當這種轉變發生時，您建議我們外界關注什麼？您將尋找並希望聽到新政府的什麼消息？

Yes, it's a really good question. So I think what I take out of it is that I don't think there's ever been such a focus on space from any administration, perhaps back in the Apollo era. But I mean, it's very clear that this administration has a very strong focus on space, which is good. And when space wins, Rocket Lab wins. Also, we see a very strong focus on national security, which is obviously a core part of our business.

是的，這是一個非常好的問題。因此，我認為我從中得出的結論是，我不認為任何政府都如此關注太空，也許早在阿波羅時代就是如此。但我的意思是，很明顯，本屆政府非常關注太空，這是一件好事。當太空獲勝時，火箭實驗室獲勝。此外，我們非常關注國家安全，這顯然是我們業務的核心部分。

But I guess probably the thing I'm most excited about is there's a real focus on moving away from the kind of slow government contracting and really focusing on commercial, providing much more of the traditional space and government services, which is really, when you think about it, there's only a few companies that are really well positioned to take advantage of those commercial opportunities and us being one of them. So look, I look out on the new administration with quite a bullish outlook given those kind of three things.

但我想我最興奮的事情可能是真正關注擺脫那種緩慢的政府合同，真正關注商業，提供更多的傳統空間和政府服務，這實際上是，當你想想看，只有少數公司真正能夠充分利用這些商業機會，而我們就是其中之一。因此，考慮到這三件事，我對新政府的前景相當樂觀。

Michael Leshock, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Michael Leshock，KeyBanc 資本市場。

I wanted to ask on Space Systems. You've talked about both organic and inorganic ways to scale the business. I was just hoping for an update there on the M&A pipeline, whether you see any new opportunities?

我想問有關太空系統的問題。您談到了擴大業務的有機和無機方法。我只是希望了解併購管道的最新情況，您是否看到任何新的機會？

And then secondly, you also have those organic initiatives like additional clean room capacity that you already have the footprint for. Just wondering if you could provide some more details there and how much is left to go on those initiatives?

其次，您也可以採取一些有機舉措，例如您已經擁有的額外無塵室容量。只是想知道您是否可以提供更多詳細資訊以及這些舉措還剩下多少工作要做？

I can take a swing at this, Adam, and maybe you can follow it up. On the kind of the organic stuff, we have -- we always have a number of new products and things in development. Some of those are spin-offs from some of the programs that we're developing.

亞當，我可以嘗試一下，也許你可以跟進。在有機產品方面，我們總是有許多新產品和新產品正在開發中。其中一些是我們正在開發的一些項目的副產品。

Some of them are just areas that we think there's a market opportunity for. And the way we kind of talk about those is, obviously, you've seen in the past product releases from us. So that will -- when we have something that we think is ready, then we'll release it.

其中一些只是我們認為有市場機會的領域。顯然，我們談論這些的方式是您在我們過去發布的產品中看到的。因此，當我們認為已經準備好了一些東西時，我們就會發布它。

And I think we have a pretty strong reputation that we release it when it's done. We don't kind of talk about it until really it's done. And you saw that with even reaction wheels or something like the HASTE missions. We announced HASTE mission and then a number of weeks later we launched one. So that's kind of the way we roll with organic product development.

我認為我們享有很高的聲譽，我們會在完成後發布它。在事情真正完成之前我們不會談論它。你甚至可以透過反作用輪或諸如 HASTE 任務之類的東西看到這一點。我們宣布了 HASTE 任務，幾週後我們又啟動了一項任務。這就是我們進行有機產品開發的方式。

And then inorganic, we always maintain a pretty healthy pipeline. And maybe, Adam, you can provide a bit more comment on that.

然後是無機的，我們始終保持相當健康的管道。也許，亞當，你可以對此提供更多評論。

Yeah. I'd say on the corporate development front, we continue to look at a lot of assets out there. I think that one thing is we're very selective, right? I think if you look at the assets that we've acquired in the past, the team is always at the center of it. If you look at the fact that you pick any one of the deals, they've always been leading products in their area, from solar where they never had a single failure on orbit to bringing new kind of innovative capabilities to the market through the software capabilities for command and control software for ASI and separation systems from PSC and so forth.

是的。我想說，在企業發展方面，我們繼續關注大量資產。我認為有一件事是我們非常有選擇性，對吧？我認為，如果你看看我們過去獲得的資產，你會發現團隊始終處於核心地位。如果你看看你選擇的任何一筆交易，你會發現他們一直是各自領域的領先產品，從在軌道上從未發生過一次故障的太陽能到通過軟體向市場帶來新型創新能力用於ASI 和PSC 等分離系統的命令和控制軟體的功能。

So it's really -- I would say we continue to look at things. And we've largely gotten the bus, the satellite bus into a point where we have most of the capabilities there that we think that we need to be kind of that -- to fulfill the end-to-end requirements there. There's still a few little things here and there that we're working on, and we're actually trying to address those and some of those organically as well, not just inorganically.

所以我想說的是，我們會繼續關注這些事情。我們已經在很大程度上使總線、衛星總線達到了我們認為我們需要的大部分能力的程度——以滿足那裡的端到端要求。我們仍然在努力解決一些小問題，我們實際上正在嘗試有機地解決這些問題，而不僅僅是無機地解決其中的一些問題。

But probably the biggest missing piece to Space Systems from a -- that's going to be filled likely through inorganic is going to be on the payload side. So we really kind of stop at the payload right now. And certainly, as we've talked many, many times about our grander ambitions of having our own applications on orbit, that's going to be benefited by having our own internal capabilities around the payload side of the system.

但太空系統最大的缺失部分可能是在有效載荷方面，這可能會透過無機物來填補。所以我們現在真的就停在有效載荷上了。當然，正如我們多次談到的，我們的宏偉目標是在軌道上擁有自己的應用程序，這將受益於我們在系統有效載荷方面擁有自己的內部能力。

So there's -- fortunately for us, there's actually quite a few assets out there that are quite interesting that are kind of I'd say, poised to be part of a much bigger consolidated platform like we're building. So I think there's ample opportunities there, but we're very disciplined. It's got to be the right team, it's got to be the right time and it's got to be the right price. And so far, we haven't gotten those three stars to align, but I'm pretty confident that we'll get some of those stars to align in the not-too-distant future.

因此，對我們來說幸運的是，實際上有相當多的資產非常有趣，我想說，它們準備好成為我們正在建立的更大的綜合平台的一部分。所以我認為那裡有充足的機會，但我們非常自律。它必須是正確的團隊，必須是正確的時間，並且必須是正確的價格。到目前為止，我們還沒有讓這三顆星星對齊，但我非常有信心在不久的將來我們會讓其中一些星星對齊。

And I think that will also provide a bit of a breadcrumbing for folks to understand a little bit more specifically which applications we're targeting because a lot of the payload is obviously very specific to the application. And so having kind of some insight into kind of the capabilities that we'd be acquiring would kind of give you some ideas about where we're going from an applications perspective, which I know everyone is chomping at the bit to try to understand better.

我認為這也將為人們提供一些線索，讓他們更具體地了解我們所針對的應用程序，因為許多有效負載顯然是特定於該應用程式的。因此，對我們將要獲得的功能有一定的了解，可以讓您從應用程式的角度了解我們的發展方向，我知道每個人都在努力更好地理解這一點。

Anthony Valentini, Goldman Sachs.

安東尼·瓦倫蒂尼，高盛。

You got Anthony on for Noah tonight. Sorry to beat this point to death here, but it's been pretty well publicized at this point that Amazon's Kuiper has to get over 1,000 satellites into orbit, I think, by mid-2026. And they have orders with some of your competitors for launch vehicles that either have not launched yet or in very limited cadence.

今晚你讓安東尼代替諾阿。很抱歉在這裡把這一點搞砸了，但目前已經廣為人知的是，我認為，亞馬遜的柯伊伯衛星必須在 2026 年中期之前將 1,000 多顆衛星送入軌道。他們還向一些競爭對手訂購了運載火箭，但這些運載火箭要么尚未發射，要么發射節奏非常有限。

So I guess my question is, do you guys stand to benefit from that between now and 2026, where you guys can get a piece of that pie? Or is it to what Peter was talking to in an earlier answer, it's just not possible given capacity and how many slots that you guys have available?

所以我想我的問題是，從現在到 2026 年，你們能從中受益嗎？或者是彼得在先前的回答中所說的，鑑於容量和你們有多少可用插槽，這是不可能的？

Well, I'll put it this way, as we said, Anthony, demand is not something that we worry about and that kind of falls into that category.

好吧，我會這樣說，正如我們所說，安東尼，需求不是我們擔心的事情，而需求就屬於這一類。

Okay. That's helpful. And then, Adam, for you, is the Systems segment profitable today?

好的。這很有幫助。然後，亞當，對您來說，系統部門今天獲利了嗎？

Well, we only report our segments down to the gross margin line, and that's because we have a lot of shared resources across the different areas of development and production and so forth. And also, we have one key decision maker, which is Pete, who kind of provides the overall kind of investment decisions or mandates across both businesses.

好吧，我們只報告我們的細分市場到毛利率線，這是因為我們在開發和生產等不同領域擁有大量共享資源。此外，我們還有一位關鍵決策者，那就是皮特，他提供了兩個業務的整體投資決策或授權。

I would say, from a technical accounting perspective, we can't say that the Space Systems business is profitable on that level. But what we can tell you is that when we look at kind of anecdotally across each of the lines of business, it would be safe to say that the vast, vast majority, if not all, of the cash-consuming nature of this business is coming from Neutron, right?

我想說，從技術會計的角度來看，我們不能說空間系統業務在這個水平上是盈利的。但我們可以告訴您的是，當我們觀察各個業務領域的軼事時，可以肯定地說，該業務的絕大多數（如果不是全部）現金消耗性質是來自中子，對嗎？

So I think that's -- again, that's one of the most important things about getting Neutron to a minimum viable product in the first launch. Things will become a lot more clear at that point as the -- and actually, at some level, it doesn't really matter because then the overall profitability of the company starts to shine through.

所以我認為，這也是讓 Neutron 在首次發佈時成為最小可行產品的最重要的事情之一。到那時，事情會變得更加清晰——實際上，在某種程度上，這並不重要，因為那時公司的整體獲利能力開始顯現出來。

So again, I would say that we can't say technically that Space Systems is profitable because we just don't account for the business at that level right now. That could change in the future, but that's not the current kind of approach we take to it.

因此，我想說，從技術上講，我們不能說太空系統公司是盈利的，因為我們現在還沒有考慮到該級別的業務。未來這種情況可能會改變，但這不是我們目前採取的方法。

Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. Last one for me here. I just want to confirm the test flight on Neutron in 2025, that's no revenue, right?

是的，這很有道理。最後一張給我在這裡。我只是想確認2025年Neutron的試飛，那不是收入，對吧？

Correct. Yeah, there won't be any revenue associated with that launch. But we are working on things that would allow us to have probably some contra revenue -- contra R&D associated with that. So looking to do some creative things there where we can kind of buy down our cost of that test launch. And so that's something that we're working pretty hard towards. And hopefully, we can get some of that to come into focus.

正確的。是的，這次發布不會帶來任何收入。但我們正在做一些事情，這些事情可能會讓我們獲得一些與之相關的對抗收入——對抗研發。因此，我們希望在那裡做一些創造性的事情，這樣我們就可以降低測試發射的成本。這就是我們正在努力實現的目標。希望我們能夠專注於其中的一些內容。

Cai von Rumohr, TD Cowen.

蔡·馮·魯莫爾，TD·考恩。

So Adam, your ASPs for Electron have gone down sequentially for three straight quarters and yet your gross margin has improved. Now I know that costs are kind of specific to each mission. But what does that tell us about the underlying core profitability of Electron?

Adam，您的 Electron 平均售價已連續三個季度連續下降，但您的毛利率卻有所提高。現在我知道每個任務的成本都是特定的。但這告訴我們 Electron 的基本核心獲利能力是什麼？

Yeah. It's really a function of -- so when you talk about ASP, the ASP is a function of customer timing, right? And so we have some customers that sign up for many launches. And as a result of signing up for these bulk buys, they naturally get a lower price.

是的。它實際上是一個函數——所以當你談論 ASP 時，ASP 是一個客戶計時的函數，對嗎？因此，我們有一些客戶報名參加了許多發表會。由於簽署了這些批量購買，他們自然會得到更低的價格。

And we get the benefit of having actually better margins on a lot of those flights because a lot of the work is -- it doesn't have to get redone. All the GNC work that you have to do for each individual flight, you don't have to redo that. You get maybe the benefit of having payload adapter plates that are common across multi-launch deals.

我們受益於許多航班實際上獲得了更好的利潤，因為很多工作不需要重做。您必須為每個航班完成的所有 GNC 工作，您無需重做。您可能會受益於擁有多次發射交易中常見的有效負載適配器板。

So a lot of what you're seeing, the ASP is, again, just a function of timing of where the customer wants land. So we're -- again, we're very comfortable with the number that we set for the year at $7.5 million being the average. And of course, as I mentioned before, our backlog -- total backlog is priced at $8.2 million per electron. So that kind of shows you where it's going.

因此，在您所看到的許多內容中，ASP 只是客戶想要土地的時間的函數。因此，我們再次對今年設定的 750 萬美元的平均數字感到非常滿意。當然，正如我之前提到的，我們的積壓訂單——總積壓訂單的價格為每個電子 820 萬美元。所以這可以告訴你事情的走向。

And then the reason why the gross margin has gone up despite having the optics on the ASP is because we've been getting production efficiencies, right? So as we've gotten better at building these electrons, the cost is coming down, which has helped for us. So even as ASP may go down, gross margin go up. I think that's kind of the, I'd say, the most salient points of kind of the gross margin trend analysis.

那麼，儘管 ASP 上有光學元件，但毛利率仍然上升的原因是我們一直在提高生產效率，對嗎？因此，隨著我們在製造這些電子方面做得越來越好，成本也在下降，這對我們很有幫助。因此，即使平均售價可能下降，毛利率也會上升。我認為這是毛利率趨勢分析中最突出的一點。

And the second one is, you started the year, Peter, you mentioned the 22 launches sort of scheduled or targeted, and we're going to probably end up at 15 to 18. Have you ever thought -- I mean, and one of the big problems is that you commit to a certain price and the customer commits to a certain date, but it's not a hard date.

第二個是，彼得，你在今年開始時提到了 22 項計畫或目標的發射，我們最終可能會發布 15 到 18 項。你有沒有想過——我的意思是，最大的問題之一是你承諾某個價格，而客戶承諾某個日期，但這不是一個艱難的日期。

Have you ever thought of kind of pricing so that if the customer misses, the price goes up? And I know that you have other competitors, but certainly, if you could get your number of launches up, you've made a big point of how high the fixed launch costs are. Is there any thought of kind of getting that volume -- thinking of ways, creative ways of getting that volume up?

您是否想過採用某種定價方式，以便如果客戶錯過了，價格就會上漲？我知道你還有其他競爭對手，但當然，如果你能增加發射次數，你就已經強調了固定發射成本有多高。有沒有想過如何提高音量——想辦法、有創意的方法來提高音量？

Yeah. I mean, some launch contracts have provisions for penalties. But I mean, if a customer has had a failure of something in a TVAC and then you start loading penalties on them, it's not great for long-term relationships.

是的。我的意思是，有些發射合約有處罰條款。但我的意思是，如果客戶在 TVAC 中出現了某些問題，然後你開始對他們施加處罰，那麼這對長期關係來說並不是一件好事。

And I think the learnings here for us, and I think for everybody as well is that, the service that we provide is a bespoke, dedicated service for customers to launch. And they pay the premium for that. You compare an Electron to a rideshare, it's many, many times higher. So they -- that's what they're paying the premium for.

我認為對我們來說，對每個人來說，我們學到的教訓是，我們提供的服務是為客戶推出的客製化的、專門的服務。他們為此支付了溢價。如果將 Electron 比喻為共乘，它要高很多很多倍。所以他們——這就是他們支付溢價的原因。

I guess, the point that we try and make is that, once a customer goes into backlog and we start collecting the cash from that customer, these customers never go away. They just sort of shift around. It's just a peculiarity of the way that revenue is recognized on launch.

我想，我們嘗試提出的一點是，一旦客戶積壓，我們開始從該客戶收取現金，這些客戶就永遠不會消失。他們只是有點轉移。這只是在發佈時確認收入的方式的一個特點。

So no, I think we continue to play launch whack-a-mole. And wherever possible, like you see we did in the last quarter, we'll take quick turn to business and fill some gaps. But it's kind of really the reality of the service that we provide.

所以不，我認為我們會繼續玩“打地鼠”遊戲。只要有可能，就像您在上個季度看到的那樣，我們將快速轉向業務並填補一些空白。但這確實是我們所提供的服務的現實。

And there are no further questions at this time. I will turn the call back over to Peter Beck for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我會將電話轉回給彼得貝克 (Peter Beck) 致閉幕詞。

Great. And thanks very much for everybody sticking around for the questions as well. Much appreciated. But before we close out today, I just wanted to draw your attention to some of the up-and-coming conferences we'll be attending. We look forward to sharing more exciting news and updates with you there.

偉大的。也非常感謝大家留下來提問。非常感謝。但在今天結束之前，我只想提請您注意我們將參加的一些即將舉行的會議。我們期待與您分享更多令人興奮的新聞和更新。

But that wraps up today's call. And thanks, everybody, for sticking around and listening to all the progress that's been made. The team is certainly very proud of this quarter and what we've achieved this year. So thanks very much.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家留下來並聆聽所取得的所有進展。團隊當然對本季以及我們今年的成就感到非常自豪。非常感謝。

This does conclude today's conference. You may now disconnect.

今天的會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。