Rocket Lab quietly launched a small satellite from New Zealand on Friday as part of a US Space Force exercise to test the military’s ability to rapidly respond to a crisis in low-Earth orbit. The launch was barely announced. No livestream. No official statements from Rocket Lab or the Space Force.
The only public indication was a warning for pilots and sailors to steer clear of the rocket’s flight path. But the US military’s catalog of space objects was updated over the weekend to show a new satellite — designated Victus Haze Puma — with a launch date of Friday from Rocket Lab’s spaceport at Māhia Peninsula.
Victus Haze is the Space Force’s latest responsive space mission. The idea, announced back in 2024, was to launch a small satellite built by True Anomaly first — posing as a potential adversary’s satellite — then have Rocket Lab ready to launch an inspector satellite on short notice. The goal: demonstrate how quickly the military could assess a threat in orbit.
That’s apparently what happened. True Anomaly’s Jackal-0004 satellite launched from California on May 3 on a SpaceX rideshare. Rocket Lab’s Puma satellite approached within 60 miles of Jackal just eight hours after launch, according to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who tracks space activity using open source data.
Eventually, the satellites are expected to switch roles — Jackal becomes the inspector, Puma the target. True Anomaly announced its Jackal spacecraft had achieved all “test objectives” for “end-to-end uncooperative rendezvous and proximity operations.” Which is a fancy way of saying: it can chase other satellites around orbit.
The Space Force has been pursuing responsive launch initiatives to cut the time needed for fielding new satellites from years to weeks, days, or hours. Victus Haze follows the successful Victus Nox mission in 2023, where Firefly Aerospace launched a satellite just 27 hours after receiving orders.
Victus Haze is more complicated — more satellites, more rockets, multiple spaceports. The total cost was about $92 million, split between government funding and private capital.
“This demonstration will ultimately prepare the United States Space Force to provide future forces to combatant commands to conduct rapid operations in response to adversary on-orbit aggression,” Space Systems Command said when announcing the mission.
So the next time you look up at the night sky, remember: there are satellites playing tag up there, and the military is watching.
