Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (RKLB) shares plummeted 9.12% during intraday trading on Friday, reflecting a broader sell-off across the space sector that also dragged down peers such as Intuitive Machines and AST SpaceMobile.

The sharp decline in Rocket Lab’s stock came as the entire space industry faced intense pressure, with investors offloading positions in high-growth space names. The sector-wide rout pushed Rocket Lab to the bottom of the Nasdaq 100 performers list, underscoring the severity of the sell-off in space-related equities.

Other aerospace and defense names, however, showed relative strength during the same session, suggesting that the selling was concentrated specifically on pure-play space stocks rather than the broader defense sector.