Rocket Lab, Inc. is a publicly traded aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider that operates and launches lightweight Electron orbital rockets, that provide dedicated launches for small satellites. The company plans to build a larger Neutron rocket as early as 2024. Electron rockets have launched 33 times from either Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand and at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia, United States.
Two attempts have been made to recover an Electron booster by helicopter. In addition, four attempts have been made at soft water recovery. As of 2022, the company is developing the bigger Neutron reusable unibody rocket; Photon satellite buses, and rocket engines: Rutherford, Curie, HyperCurie, and Archimedes.
The company was founded in New Zealand in 2006. By 2009, the successful launch of Ātea-1 made Rocket Lab the first private company in the Southern Hemisphere to reach space. The company established headquarters in California, US in 2013 and developed the expendable Electron rocket. The first launch of the rocket took place in May 2017. In August 2021, the company became a public company, listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange through a SPAC merger. In May 2022, after four years of development, the Electron booster attempted recovery by a helicopter.
The company also builds and operates satellites for the Space Development Agency, a space-based missile defense program of the United States Space Force established by Michael D. Griffin (who later became a Rocket Lab board member) in his role as Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering during the Trump administration. The company's participation drew controversy in New Zealand, where members of parliament noted the company is contributing to the "weaponization of space" and could be in violation of New Zealand's nuclear-free zone laws. The Union of Concerned Scientists warns SDA will escalate global tensions and called the project "fundamentally destabilizing".
In 2021, the company had 525 staff in New Zealand and about 150 in the rest of the world, mostly the United States. The acquisition of SolAero added 425 staff members in the United States in January 2022.
History
Founding (2006–2012) The company was founded in June 2006 by Peter Beck in New Zealand, after a trip to the United States. During the trip, Beck realized the possibility and potential for a low-cost small vehicle. While contacting potential investors, he met Mark Rocket, who would later become a key seed investor in the company and was the co-director from 2007 to 2011. Other investors to the company includes Stephen Tindall, Vinod Khosla, and the New Zealand Government.
The company became the first private company in the Southern Hemisphere to reach space after launching its Ātea-1 sounding rocket in November 2009. The payload was not recovered, as it was deemed to be unsuccessful. The payload was a ballistic instrumentation dart and its trajectory depended only on the boost phase of flight. The launch took place off the coast of New Zealand, from the private island (the Great Mercury Island) of Michael Fay, a New Zealand banker and Rocket Lab investor. A second early investor was Stephen Tindall, a New Zealand entrepreneur.
In December 2010, the company was awarded a U.S. government contract from the Operationally Responsive Space Office (ORS) to study a low cost space launcher to place CubeSats into orbit. The agreement with NASA enabled the company to contract for limited NASA resources such as personnel, facilities, and equipment for commercial launch efforts.
Moving to United States (2013–2020)
Around 2013, the company moved its registration from New Zealand to the United States, and opened headquarters in Huntington Beach, California. The move coincided with the company receiving funding from American sources, and was in part due to increased U.S. government involvement in the company. The New Zealand company became a subsidiary of the American company. In 2020, Rocket Lab moved its headquarters to Long Beach, California. The move was motivated by the need to accommodate the company's growing workforce and to be closer to major suppliers and customers. The new facility includes a state-of-the-art production facility for manufacturing the company's Electron launch vehicle, as well as administrative offices and other support facilities. The move to Long Beach further solidifies Rocket Lab's position as a key player in the rapidly growing commercial space industry.