2024-06-12 10:57:10 ET
Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ: RKLB) stock -- what else? -- rocketed on Wednesday morning, soaring 7.2% through 9:45 a.m. ET after releasing multiple positive pieces of PR.
The least interesting of these is that Rocket Lab signed a "preliminary memorandum of terms" with the Commerce Department yesterday, which could see the company awarded up to $23.9 million in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act .
It may seem curious that Rocket Lab -- a space stock that specializes in building small satellites and small rockets to launch them -- would receive a government subsidy to manufacture semiconductor chips . But as Rocket Lab explains, the government funding would "enable Rocket Lab to increase its production of compound semiconductors for spacecraft and satellites." And in fact, Rocket Lab owns a subsidiary, SolAero Technologies, that specializes in building space-grade solar cells -- a special kind of semiconductor.
For further details see:
Why Rocket Lab USA Stock Just Jumped 7%