ROCKET LAB

Last updated: 28/06/2019 | USA: 06/27/2019

Rocket Lab is a private American aerospace company and was founded in 2006 by New Zealander Peter Beck. Peter Beck is still Rocket Lab's CEO and CTO. Peter's fellow internet entrepreneur and New Zealander Mark Rocket, yes his last name is actually Rocket, was the seed investor and co-director from 2007 to 2011. In 2009, Rocket Lab claimed it had become the first private company in the Southern Hemisphere to reach space with their Ātea-1 sounding rocket. The payload was not recovered, but it was not deemed necessary. 

Rocket Lab was awarded a United States government contract from the Operationally Responsive Space Office(ORS) to study a low-cost space launcher to place CubeSats into orbit. This agreement with NASA enables the company to use NASA resources such as personnel, facilities, and equipment for commercial launch efforts.

Rocket Lab's launch site was officially opened on 26 September 2016 and is located on the Mahia Peninsula, east of Wairoa on the North Island of New Zealand. Rocket Lab is licensed to launch rockets every 72 hours for 30 years. However, the company's mission control is located in Auckland New Zealand. After several months of searching, Rocket Lab announced its selection of NASA Wallops Flight Facility as its second launch site in October 2018. The site was chosen for its low number of launches from other companies, along with its ability to supplement orbital inclinations provided by LC-1.

Rocket Lab's first launch of the Ātea suborbital sounding rocket occurred late in 2009. The rocket was a tiny one being 6-meters (20 ft) long and only 60kg. It was also designed to carry a 2kg payload to an altitude of 120km. Space is about 100km(62 miles) at its shortest distance from Earth. The Electron, however, is a bigger rocket that is capable of delivering payloads of 150kg to a 500km Sun-synchronous orbit. The Electron's engine is fabricated largely by 3D printing, via electron beam melting, whereby layers of metal powder are melted in a high vacuum by an electron beam rather than a laser. The Rutherford engine uses pumps that are uniquely powered by battery-powered electric motors rather than a gas generator, preburner, or expander. The first test flight occurred on the 25th of May 2017 at 4:20 UTC from Mahia Peninsula on the North Island. The rocket reached an altitude of 224km(140 mi) when telemetry was lost. Even though the rocket was performing nominally, they decided to destroy it. Rocket Lab has been successful in its recent launches with the Electron.

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