Sports cars, fighter jets and family dinner: How Rocket Lab’s Sir Peter Beck unwinds

Sir Peter Beck is living his dream heading one of the world’s most respected private space companies. Photo / Supplied

‘That’s life-changing’

The 49-year-old made Forbes’ real-time billionaires list earlier this month, but said Rocket Lab’s greatest financial success wasn’t making him a billionaire.

His proudest moment came when Rocket Lab was listed on the Nasdaq in mid-2021 and many of his staff received life-changing windfalls for their work.

“The thing that’s more fulfilling is all the millionaires you’ve made along the way,” he said.

When Rocket Lab lifted off when it was publicly listed on the Nasdaq, about 150 staff became millionaires. Photo / Supplied

“When we went public, there were 150 Rocket Lab staff [who] became instant millionaires and many more since. If we do well, they do well.

“An extra billion here and there makes no difference to me. I’ve had a lot of people… put their kids through school or pay off their mortgage… that’s life changing.”

The mission: a normal home life

Beck’s mission for the company is clear: “I’m trying to build the biggest space company in the world, that’s the plan.”

His day begins at about 4.30am when he heads to his company’s American HQ at Long Beach, California. He says work is on his mind until his bedtime around 10-11pm.

Beck leaves Rocket Lab HQ as close to 5pm as he can each day, he said, so he can have dinner with his wife, Kerryn, and their two children.

Kerryn Beck (fifth from left) pictured next to her husband Sir Peter Beck, pictured in the rare wearing of a suit. Photo / Supplied

Beck met Kerryn – who is also a designer – years ago when they both worked at Fisher & Paykel.

The couple are deeply protective of their family, never authorising the publication of their children’s photos, names or ages.

“We try and keep the kids out of the limelight,” Beck told the Herald. “They are their own people.”

Kiwi V8 Supercar legend Greg Murphy (left) and Sir Peter Beck pictured in front of the Rocket Lab founder and chief executive’s DeLorean sports car. Photo / Supplied

He jokes that his workload means he “probably won’t be winning any awards” when it comes to being father of the year.

“We’ll always sit around the dinner table,” he said.

“And then we’ll all disappear off, I’ll go back to work, my wife will go and do her thing, and the kids will go and do their thing. There’s no sort of lounging around in front of a television; everybody’s got missions and plans.”

A space race with Musk and Bezos

Rocket Lab is valued at around $43b and last year had sales of almost $760 million.

The value of company shares on the Nasdaq this week fluctuated between US$67.65- US$64.70 ($116.05 -$112.67).

Two rockets on launch pads at Rocket Lab’s Mahia spaceport on Hawke’s Bay’s coastline. Photo / Rocket Lab

From its beginnings in June 2006, Rocket Lab has undertaken 75 orbital launches – including deploying more than 230 satellites – and is now a launch provider partner for Nasa.

While still launching from its initial pad at Mahia – on the northeastern Hawke’s Bay coastline – the company now has a second site in Virginia, and is considering a third base in Scotland.

The company’s growth now sees it competing with Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin in the private space race.

Sir Peter Beck wore a suit to meet King Charles along with other space industry leaders. Photo / Supplied

“It’s incredibly competitive, not just in the United States, but globally,” Beck told the Herald.

Need for speed: Fast cars and jets

The billionaire doesn’t drink coffee, rarely wears a suit and avoids formal meetings whenever possible.

It’s a rule of Rocket Lab meetings that if an attendee isn’t adding value – they should leave.

“I much prefer to just arrive at people’s desks and have impromptu discussions than call formal meetings,” he told the Herald.

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is a competitor of Sir Peter Beck and Rocket Lab in the private space race. Photo / Getty Images

Apart from family dinner, Beck’s favourite way to unwind is to indulge his love of fast things: cars, choppers, planes and jets.

He owns a DeLorean sports car, a helicopter and a plane – an Aero L-39 Albatros ex-Ukrainian military fighter trainer jet with a top speed around 980km/h.

“The only way I can really unwind is to put myself in a position where I can’t think about anything other than what’s at hand,” he said.

Sir Peter Beck says there is mutual respect between Jeff Bezos (second from left) and him. Photo / Getty Images

“Nobody’s going to be roaring around a race car track thinking about the separation systems of a rocket.

“It’s a real escape to just walk out to a helicopter, go into a little bubble, and then for the time you’re there, you’re just 100% focused on that.”

Mars missions and crewed flights

Free time gives Beck an escape from being consumed by all things Rocket Lab; like the pending launch of two spacecraft built for Nasa that are set to head to Mars next month.

Rocket Lab shares have soared on the Nasdaq, especially over the past 12 months. Photo / Supplied

Beck says when they reach Mars’ orbit, 20% of all craft there “will have Rocket Lab logos”.

The company is also hoping to achieve a late-2025 debut launch of its bigger Neutron rocket, capable of carrying a 13,000kg payload to low Earth orbit, or up to 1500kg for missions to the Moon or Mars.

Previous launches have used the Neutron rocket, which has a payload of about 300kg to the low Earth orbit.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck is no big fan of formal dress or meetings. Photo / Supplied

Almost every part of a Neutron craft is made in New Zealand.

Its increased size means the rocket will be “human flight capable”, and Beck said Rocket Lab “certainly” hadn’t ruled out taking human cargo into space one day.

“As more destinations arrive, then it will become obvious that there is a business case for that in the future,” he said.

Sir Peter Beck with General Stephen Whiting, Commander of the US Department of Defence’s Space Command. Photo / Supplied

Given the hyper-competitive nature of the private space race, Beck has previously avoided revealing too much about the inner workings and hardware of Rocket Lab.

But in The Launch of Rocket Lab, Beck and members of his team have revealed previously-held secrets about some of its hardware, and a vast collection of images.

“We put a lot of pictures of hardware in there, almost uncomfortably so, because generally [we] don’t show that level of detail,” Beck told the Herald. “But our hardware is just so goddamn beautiful that people need to see it.”

An Aero L-39 Albatros fighter jet similar to the one that Sir Peter Beck owns and flies for relaxation. Photo / NZME

‘He needs more realistic expectations’

In the opening paragraph of his introductory chapter, Beck recalls a high school career counsellor telling his parents: “Your son needs to have more realistic expectations”.

The rest his history. Three decades on, he is a multibillionaire.

He hopes his story will inspire young Kiwis and other New Zealand entrepreneurs to chase their dreams, he said.

“I do a lot with New Zealand entrepreneurs,” he told the Herald. “And the number one thing I‘m always preaching is you’ve got to think bigger.

The incredibly story of Sir Peter Beck and his Rocket Lab company is told in a new release, The Launch of Rocket Lab. Photo / Supplied

“In New Zealand… the technology is always good. The efficiency of execution is always great.

“But often the thing that’s missing is, ‘I’m just gonna take on the world and be the best in the world’.”

>> The Launch of Rocket Lab – published by HarperCollins – is released on October 28, with a RRP of $75.

Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 33 years of newsroom experience.

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