As Rocket Lab prepares to begin tests of the first Archimedes engine, it says that Neutron won’t be ready for its first flight before the middle of 2025.

Only slightly disappointing, and not too surprising. It’s honestly pretty impressive how little the timeline has slipped so far. Neutron was announced in 2021 with a target launch date in 2024. If it takes only 33% longer, that will still be pretty quick for rocket development.