Gauss thruster. Image: Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab continued this week to expand its business offerings beyond launch, with the introduction of a new spacecraft thruster—Gauss.
The electric thruster is intended to both support Rocket Lab’s own spacecraft programs, and to fill a gap in the industry. Thrusters are in high demand these days as commercial and government customers look to send more sats aloft, with the ability to maneuver in-orbit.
“Early technology development can be done at these small mom and pop shops, but when it really comes prime time to make things at scale, people like ourselves who are procurers of that, if they don’t vertically integrate, they get very nervous that they won’t have access to capital and expertise to scale production,” Rocket Lab CFO Adam Spice told Payload. “It’s all about derisking our ability to deliver on our commitments.”