PETER BECK

In making its boosters reusable, Rocket Lab would be able to launch more often while simultaneously decreasing the material cost of each mission.

Using a helicopter to catch a falling rocket is such a complex task that Peter Beck likens it to a “supersonic ballet.”.

Using a helicopter to catch a falling rocket is such a complex task that Peter Beck likens it to a “supersonic ballet.” Rocket Lab, the company that Beck founded, partially pulled off the feat Tuesday as it pushes to make its small Electron rockets reusable. The California-based company regularly launches 18-meter (59-foot) rockets from the remote Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand to deliver satellites into space.

Rocket Lab will attempt to catch a falling Electron first stage with a helicopter during its next orbital mission, which will lift off no earlier than April 19.

Rocket Lab will build its next-generation Neutron launcher in Virginia, at a site adjacent to the company's coastal U.S. launch pad.

Rocket Lab has finished work on the second pad at its New Zealand launch complex — and this newly built Pad B is set to host its first liftoff as early as Monday (Feb. 28).

RocketLab's next-generation Neutron rocket promises to take reusability to the next level with a 'hungry hippo' nose cone integrated into a first stage that returns to the launch pad ready to fly again like an aircraft.

Rocket Lab on Thursday unveiled more about the larger, reusable Neutron rocket it is developing.

Rocket Lab will lift the veil on its next-generation rocket on Thursday (Dec. 2) and you can watch it live online.

Rocket Lab plans to pluck the falling first stage of one of its Electron launchers out of the sky with a helicopter on its next recovery mission.

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck has dramatically changed his tune on reusing rockets, a practice made increasingly popular by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Rocket Lab signed a five-launch contract with European satellite data company Kinéis. The deal adds to the space company's backlog.

California-based Rocket Lab just completed its previously announced merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

Rocket Lab begin trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, becoming the latest space company to close a SPAC merger and go public.

Rocket Lab will provide Varda Space Industries three Photon spacecraft to support the start-up's first in-space manufacturing missions.

Rocket Lab on Tuesday announced it won an early NASA contract to send two of its Photon spacecraft on a mission to Mars in 2024.

New Zealand has become the latest country to sign a space agreement with U.S. space agency NASA, just as New Zealand’s nascent space industry begins to take off.

Rocket Lab will fish another booster out of the sea this weekend, if all goes according to plan.

The next mission for Rocket Lab will feature its second attempt to recover an Electron rocket booster after liftoff by splashing it down in the ocean.

Rocket Lab launched an Electron rocket on the "Look Ma, No Hands" mission to orbit four cubesats into orbit from Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand on Aug. 19, 2019. Rocket Lab is a private spaceflight company that provides launches for small satellites to Earth orbit. Rocket Lab does this using its Electron rocket launch vehicle, a two-stage rocket that, according to their website, stands 59 feet tall (18 meters) and which can haul payloads of up to 661 lbs. But despite its longstanding commitment to its relatively small Electron rocket, Rocket Lab announced in 2021 that by 2024, it plans to launch a new type of rocket it calls the Neutron. This article was updated with new information on LC-2, Rocket Lab's Neutron rocket and its merger with Vector Acquisition Corporation on Mar.

Peter Beck: That's a very good question. And if you look at the most successful launch vehicle in history, the Soyuz or R-7, it's an 8-ton-lift launch vehicle. That's really, really helpful in informing us what material selections and configurations we're aiming for with Neutron. And not just things like licensing and analysis, but on the production floor as well — just really, really lean. Peter Beck: That's one of the reasons why we love the Wallops site — this vehicle is directly compatible with Pad 0A.

The private launch company Rocket Lab unveiled its plans to launch a big, new rocket called Neutron by 2024 on Monday (March 1), turning away from its longstanding commitment to launch tiny satellites exclusively on small boosters. The Neutron rocket will also be capable of launching astronauts, Rocket Lab said. "There are some things we said we would never do, but we're going to build a big rocket," Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said in a video announcing Neutron released today (March 1). In photos: Rocket Lab and its Electron boosterA diagram showing Rocket Lab's planned Neutron rocket, a medium-lift vehicle the company intends to launch in 2024. For comparison, Rocket Lab's Electron booster is 59 feet tall (18 m) and can carry payloads of just over 660 lbs.

CEO Peter Beck stands at the base of the fairing, or nosecone, of the Neutron rocket the company is developing. Rocket Lab is the leader in the small launch marketplace, with its Electron rocket carrying nearly 100 small satellites to orbit over the past couple of years. But now, with about $750 million in cash proceeds expected from going public, Rocket Lab will build a bigger rocket called Neutron. Building a factory near the Virginia launchpadAn Electron rocket stands on the company's launchpad at NASA's Wallops facility in Virginia. Beck's view of going public and the space SPAC boomAn Electron rocket gets ready to launch.

Rocket Lab, a California-based private company, is currently launching its small class Electron rocket from New Zealand and soon, Virginia. Rocket Lab plans to adapt the spacecraft to send a series of private robotic missions to Venus beginning in 2023. AdRocket Lab CEO Peter Beck and Neutron (Rocket Lab 2021)“It’s about time I finally ate the hat,” he said, placing a Rocket Lab baseball cap in a blending machine and then putting the blended up pieces in a martini glass. After more than 3 years of delivering reliable access to orbit, Rocket Lab is planning to go public on the @Nasdaq. https://t.co/aPe9PboexG pic.twitter.com/i7lY250mBT — Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) March 1, 2021“One thing that’s probably more exciting and most unusual for Rocket Lab is that this vehicle is capable of human spaceflight,” Beck said.

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck stands with one his company's Electron rockets. Rocket Lab will list on the Nasdaq under the ticker RKLB when the deal closes, which is expected in the second quarter. Both Rocket Lab and Spire Global count Bessemer as an investor, with partners Cowan and Tess Hatch on the companies' respective boards. Unveiling the bigger Neutron rocketRocket LabRocket Lab also unveiled plans for a second, larger rocket called Neutron to lift even more payloads than its current Electron rocket. Rocket Lab also said Neutron will have a reusable first stage (also known as the booster), which will "land on an ocean platform."

Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said via Twitter this morning. In photos: Rocket Lab and its Electron boosterA Rocket Lab Electron booster launches from New Zealand on Jan. 20, 2021, carrying a microsatellite to orbit on the "Another One Leaves the Crust" mission. The rocket has now lofted a total of 97 spacecraft to orbit, Rocket Lab representatives said. Rocket Lab fished the booster out of the sea after that November mission and hauled it back to shore for inspection and analysis. But Rocket Lab recently built a second launch site , at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, primarily to accommodate small-satellite missions for the U.S. government.

A Rocket Lab Electron booster stands on the pad in New Zealand ahead of the planned Jan. 16 launch of the "Another Leaves the Crust" mission. Rocket Lab's first launch of 2021 will take place this weekend, if all goes according to plan. In photos: Rocket Lab and its Electron booster"Another One Leaves the Crust" will loft a communications microsatellite for the European space technology company OHB Group. Rocket Lab said via Twitter last week . As the upcoming flight indicates, Rocket Lab likes to give its missions playful, light-hearted names.

AdIt used to be -- in the U.S.-- NASA was the only way to fund and send a robotic mission to another world, but not anymore. The company wants to send the first robotic mission to Venus in 2023. (Image credit: Rocket Lab) (Rocket Lab)Meanwhile, NASA is considering funding its own missions to the planet considered Earth’s twin. Currently there are two Venus missions under consideration and two more equally fascinating missions, one designed to study Jupiter’s moon Io and another to Neptune’s moon Triton. AdHere’s what launching a robotic mission to another planet looks like, in a nutshell, according to Wagner:“This is what a typical NASA mission is.

Rocket Lab recovered the first stage of its Electron booster for the first time ever during the “Return to Sender” mission, which launched on Nov. 19, 2020. Rocket Lab is now confident that its reusability dreams can come true. (Image credit: Rocket Lab via Twitter)The recovery, which occurred in the Pacific about 400 miles (650 kilometers) from Rocket Lab's New Zealand launch site, was no picnic. Related: Rocket Lab to snag falling boosters with a helicopter and refly themElectron is home. "It's a topic of much discussion at Rocket Lab right now."

Rocket Lab, the leading company building and launching small rockets, on Thursday took what CEO Peter Beck described as a "huge milestone" in its work to reuse rockets. The recovery came after Rocket Lab's 16th launch to date, which carried 30 satellites to orbit for a variety of customers including TriSept, Swam Technologies and Unseenlabs. Rocket Lab, instead, is testing a technology Beck calls an "aero thermal decelerator" — essentially using the atmosphere to slow down the rocket. Rocket Lab, which has operations and facilities in the United States as well, launches from a private complex on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula. Rocket Lab will now transport the booster back to the company's production facility, where its engineers will inspect the rocket and gather data to further the recovery program.

Rocket Lab just delivered a passel of satellites to orbit and took a big step toward booster reusability. Then, about two hours after liftoff, Rocket Lab personnel fished the booster out of the drink with a recovery ship. Related: Rocket Lab and its Electron booster (photos)Welcome back to Earth Electron! "We'll pull it all apart and really, really dig into how well each of the components in the subassemblies have performed." The spacecraft will investigate a possible link between earthquakes and disturbances in Earth's upper atmosphere, Rocket Lab representatives wrote.

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket launches 10 Earth-imaging satellites for Planet and Canon Electronics into orbit from Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand on Oct. 28, 2020. Rocket Lab plans to take a big step toward booster reuse this month. Rocket Lab personnel will then fish the booster out of the Pacific Ocean and haul it to shore for a thorough inspection. Related: Rocket Lab and its Electron booster (photos)"Once we get it back into the factory, it's like a CSI [crime scene investigation], really," Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck told reporters during a teleconference on Wednesday (Nov. 4). Rocket Lab first announced its reusability ambitions in August 2019, and the company has made considerable progress since then.

Private space company, Rocket Lab has had plans in the works to launch a spacecraft to Venus on its Electron rocket as soon as 2023. The announcement this week added to the excitement of a mission to the second planet from the sun coming up in the near future. So from a from a climate perspective, I think we have a lot to learn from Venus,” Beck said. “Don’t get me wrong, I like Mars to just not as much as Venus,” Beck said. Rocket Lab is known for its quirky mission names but Beck says they have still not decided to on a name for the mission to Venus.

California-based space startup Rocket Lab will resume launching its Electron rockets from New Zealand this month four weeks after the company experienced its first launch failure. Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said in a call with reporters Friday the Federal Aviation Administration approved the company to resume launches after an FAA-supported investigation identified the cause of the July 4 launch failure from Mahia, New Zealand. Electron had 12 previous successful launches from New Zealand prior to the 13th doomed launch. After duplicating the issue, Beck said the team was about to mitigate the problem through a slight change in its production process. Rocket Lab did not announce when in August the company plans to launch again or with what payload.

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck stands with one his company's Electron rockets. Worse, Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck told CNBC that this is only the "early days" of the crisis for an industry that saw a boom time over the past decade. Beck is one of the most experienced leaders among the latest generation of space ventures, having built Rocket Lab into a multifaceted company. Rocket Lab engineers prepare a "kick stage" with several payloads attached before a mission. If it's done well, the outcome has the ability to be totally disproportionate to the investment," Beck said.

Related: Rocket Lab and its Electron booster (photos)Weeks ago, we did a little test. One helicopter dropped an Electron test stage, which deployed a parachute. The chopper successfully ferried the rocket stage back to land, as it would during a real post-launch recovery, company representatives said. "Congratulations to the recovery team here at Rocket Lab on a flawless midair recovery test," Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said in a statement . That coming milestone, which Rocket Lab aims to notch late in 2020, won't involve a midair catch.

An animation shows Rocket Lab's Electron rocket returning back through the atmosphere after a launch. It's a critical development in Rocket Lab's plan to reuse its rockets for future missions. Already, Rocket Lab has successfully returned two rocket boosters after its most recent launches, navigating them back through the intense reentry of the Earth's atmosphere. If its reuse plans succeed, Rocket Lab would join SpaceX as the only private company to return and recover an orbital-class rocket booster. When Rocket Lab tries it with a real rocket after a launch the parachute will open at about 20,000 feet.

A screengrab from Rocket Lab's video showing what an Electron rocket recovery would look like. Rocket Lab began launching in May 2017 from Mahia, New Zealand. To date, 35 satellites have been successfully delivered to space, according to Rocket Labs website. According to a news release, Rocket Lab first plans to attempt to recover an Electron first stage downrange of Launch Complex 1 and have it shipped back to Rocket Labs Production Complex for refurbishment. Next, unlike SpaceX, Rocket Lab will attempt to capture Electrons first stage but instead of using a propulsion system Rocket Lab will capture the booster mid-air by helicopter.

Rocket Lab, the leading U.S. company in launching small rockets, is aiming to take a major step in the year ahead: Recovering and re-using the largest part of its Electron rocket. A secret landing development team at Rocket Lab did take a "deep dive into propulsive landings," Beck said, but in the end decided against it. Here's how Rocket Lab plans to pull it off. While SpaceX is the most widely-known rocket company in the industry, Rocket Lab is steadily carving out its place by launching small batches of satellites to specific orbits around the Earth. In fulfilling the government demand for launches, Rocket Lab is closing in on completing its second launchpad, off the coast of Virginia.