Rocket Lab is on the brink of turning 20 \u2013 and what began as one man\u2019s dream in an Invercargill garage is now a Nasdaq-listed global space business valued at over NZ$50 billion.<\/p>\n
In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, Peter Beck joins me from Rocket Lab\u2019s headquarters in Long Beach, California, to reflect on the company\u2019s remarkable two decades of innovation and persistence \u2013 and how Rocket Lab continues to push the limits of what\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n
A new book, The Launch of Rocket Lab, which I authored, was released this week and captures that journey \u2013 from those early days in the corner of Industrial Research Ltd in Auckland to a highlight reel of 75 orbital missions.<\/p>\n
But the creation of Rocket Lab was actually fuelled by disillusionment. A visit to Nasa and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in early 2006 convinced Beck that his dream of working for those bastions of aerospace innovation would never become reality. It wasn\u2019t just that the self-taught engineer from New Zealand didn\u2019t have the credentials to land a job there. He wasn\u2019t overly impressed at what he saw. On the flight back to New Zealand, he took a napkin and started writing up his plans for his own rocket company.<\/p>\n
Lean, fast, and fearless<\/p>\n
Three years later, he achieved success with \u0100tea-1, the small sounding rocket launched from Great Mercury Island in 2009 that proved Rocket Lab could build and fly a vehicle on a shoestring budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was relief more than anything,\u201d Beck admitted. \u201cWe\u2019d worked so hard to get to that moment. You can test as much as you can, but you\u2019re never sure of the outcome. That first launch gave us credibility to come to the States and start doing real work.”<\/p>\n
That mindset \u2013 lean, fast and fearless \u2013 has remained a constant. \u201cWhen you start from nothing, and you have no resources, you never forget that,\u201d Beck said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to get lazy or rich and happy when everyone\u2019s always on the bleeding edge, making sure we extract the most from the minimum amount of capital.\u201d<\/p>\n
That culture has fuelled two decades of technical firsts. Rocket Lab was the first company to put a carbon-composite rocket in orbit, the first to use electric turbo-pumps and the first to reach space with a 3D\u2011printed engine. \u201cThose things are now standard practice,\u201d Beck said, \u201cbut back then, we were certainly leaning forward on the technology.\u201d<\/p>\n
Launch Complex 1 – still going strong<\/p>\n
Mahia Peninsula, where Rocket Lab\u2019s private launch site was built, remains central to that story \u2013 and close to Beck\u2019s heart. \u201cIt\u2019s the best launch site in the world, hands down. For so many reasons. One, it\u2019s the most beautiful, and two, we get more inclination options than anywhere else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The relationship with local landowners and communities began, appropriately for Rocket Lab, in low-key fashion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe met the chiefs of the trust who owned the land at a doughnut shop,\u201d Beck said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to be part of that community.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Electron rocket, which debuted in 2017, put Rocket Lab on the map, missions like Capstone \u2013 which sent a small Nasa satellite on a slingshot path to the Moon \u2013 showed how far the company\u2019s ambition extended. \u201cIt was an engineering marvel,\u201d Beck said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used a tiny rocket and an even smaller spacecraft, measured everything down to the gram, and pulled off something everyone thought could only be done with a big rocket.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neutron\u2019s disruptive potential<\/p>\n
Now attention is turning to Neutron, Rocket Lab\u2019s medium-lift reusable rocket that is designed to compete head-on with SpaceX, which Beck is preparing for launch, potentially before the end of the year. \u201cThere\u2019s one dominant player in medium-class launch and having competition is important,\u201d Beck said. \u201cNeutron looks different from any rocket that\u2019s ever been built. That\u2019s because we had the luxury of a clean sheet \u2013 applying everything we learned from Electron.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Rocket Lab heads into its third decade, Beck is thinking not just about rockets but about New\u202fZealand\u2019s place in the trillion\u2011dollar global space economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cDepending on whose report you read, it\u2019ll be between US$1.4 and $2\u202f trillion by 2035,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no reason New\u202fZealand can\u2019t have a bigger slice. It\u2019s my job to make sure we get the biggest piece of that pie possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen to the full episode of The Business of Tech, powered by 2degrees Business, streaming on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.<\/p>\n
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