Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
Company typePublic
IndustryLaunch service provider
FoundedJune 2006; 18 years ago (2006-06) in Auckland[1]
FounderPeter Beck[2]
HeadquartersLong Beach, California, U.S.[3]
Key people
Peter Beck (CEO & CTO)[2]
ProductsElectron rocket
Rutherford rocket engine
Archimedes rocket engine
Curie and HyperCurie rocket engine[4]
Photon satellite bus family
Neutron rocket
RevenueIncrease US$245 million (2023)
Decrease US$−135 million (2022)
Decrease US$−183 million (2023)
Total assetsDecrease US$940 million (December 2023[5])
Total equityDecrease US$673 million (2022)
Number of employees
2,000[6] (June 2024)
Websiterocketlabusa.com
Footnotes / references
[7][8][9]

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. is a publicly traded aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider.[10] It operates and launches lightweight Electron orbital rockets[10] used to provide dedicated launch services for small satellites[11] and a suborbital Electron variant called HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron).[12] The company plans to offer a larger Neutron rocket[13] as early as 2025.[14] Electron rockets have launched to orbit 49 times from either Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand[10] or at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia.[15] In 2023 Rocket Lab launched one sub-orbital HASTE rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia.[16] Rocket Lab manufactures and operates spacecraft and is a supplier of satellite components including star trackers, reaction wheels, solar cells and arrays, satellite radios, separation systems, as well as flight and ground software.[17]

The company was founded in New Zealand in 2006.[18] By 2009,[19] the successful launch of Ātea-1[19] made the organization the first private company in the Southern Hemisphere to reach space.[18] The company established headquarters in California, U.S. in 2013[20] and developed the expendable[21] Electron rocket.[22] Electron's first launch took place in May 2017.[23] In August 2020, the company launched its first Photon satellite.[24] The company built and operates satellites for the Space Development Agency,[25][26] a direct-reporting agency of the United States Space Force.

In May 2022, after four years of development, the company attempted to recover the Electron booster by a helicopter.[27] In 2024, the company announced that a first stage booster recovered on an earlier launch would be reused on a future launch.[28]

Rocket Lab acquired four companies to expand its space systems offering, including Sinclair Interplanetary in April 2020,[29] Advanced Solutions in December 2021,[30] SolAero Holdings in January 2022,[31] and Planetary Systems in December 2021.[32] As of June 2024, the company had approximately 2,000 full time permanent employees globally.[6] Approximately 700 of these employees are based in New Zealand with the remainder in the United States.[33] As of 2024, the company was developing the bigger Neutron reusable unibody rocket;[14] multiple spacecraft buses,[34] and rocket engines: Rutherford,[35] Curie,[36] HyperCurie,[37] and Archimedes.[38] In mid 2024, the company entered the engine test phase in Neutron’s development process.[39]

In August 2021, the company went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange through a SPAC merger.[40]

  1. ^ "Rocket Lab Celebrates Rich Ten-Year History". Rocket Lab. 2016. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Our Team". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  3. ^ Masunaga, Samantha (21 March 2017). "Rocket Lab moves headquarters from Los Angeles to Huntington Beach". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Rocket Lab tests new hyperCurie engine that will power its deep space delivery vehicle". Yahoo News. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Rocket Lab (RKLB) - Total assets".
  6. ^ a b "Sir Peter Beck: Ambitions interplanetary and down-to-Earth". RNZ. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Rocket Lab USA Inc. 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 7 March 2023. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Rocket Lab USA Inc (RKLB) Reports Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth and Margin Expansion". 27 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Reusable Rockets". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  10. ^ a b c "New Zealand Launch Schedule [Including Past Launches] - RocketLaunch.Live". www.rocketlaunch.live. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  11. ^ "IAF : B4.5 Speed To Space: Dedicated Launch For Small Satellites on Electron". www.iafastro.org. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Rocket Lab Introduces Suborbital Testbed Rocket, Selected for Hypersonic Test Flights". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Neutron". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  14. ^ a b Roulette, Joey (30 September 2022). "Rocket Lab to fire up first tests of new engine next year - CEO". Reuters. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  15. ^ Mehta, Aaron (7 December 2022). "New Zealand's Rocket Lab prepares for first launch from US, as it eyes national security growth". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  16. ^ Foust, Jeff (18 June 2023). "Rocket Lab launches first suborbital version of Electron". SpaceNews. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Rocket Lab Makes its Defense Prime Debut with $0.5 Billion Contract to Design and Build Satellite Constellation for Space Development Agency". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Rocket Lab USA Poised to Change the Space Industry". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Ä€tea-1". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  20. ^ "Rocket Lab Expands Footprint with New Long Beach Headquarters and Production Complex". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  21. ^ Wall, Mike (4 November 2022). "Rocket Lab launches Swedish satellite but fails to catch booster with helicopter". Space.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  22. ^ "Electron". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Completed Missions". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  24. ^ Foust, Jeff (4 September 2020). "Rocket Lab launches first Photon satellite". SpaceNews. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Rocket Lab wins $515 million contract to build 18 satellites for U.S. government agency". 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  26. ^ "Rocket Lab Supports Significant Milestone for DARPA and Space Development Agency". 13 July 2022. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Rocket Maker Fails in 1st Bid to Catch, Recover Booster With Helicopter | Aerospace Tech Review". www.aerospacetechreview.com. 3 May 2022. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  28. ^ "Rocket Lab Returns Previously Flown Electron to Production Line in Preparation for First Reflight". www.businesswire.com. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  29. ^ "Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition of Satellite Hardware Manufacturer Sinclair Interplanetary". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Rocket Lab Acquires Space Software Company Advanced Solutions, Inc". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  31. ^ "Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition of Space Solar Power Products Company SolAero Holdings, Inc". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  32. ^ "Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition Of Space Hardware Company Planetary Systems Corporation". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  33. ^ "The Post". www.thepost.co.nz. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  34. ^ "Rocket Lab Unveils Spacecraft Bus Lineup". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  35. ^ "Rutherford Engine Test Fire". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  36. ^ "The Kick Stage: Responsible Orbital Deployment". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  37. ^ Etherington, Darrell (13 May 2020). "Rocket Lab tests new hyperCurie engine that will power its deep space delivery vehicle". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  38. ^ Gebhardt, Chris (2 December 2021). "Neutron switches to methane/oxygen, 1 Meganewton Archimedes engine revealed". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  39. ^ "Rocket Lab Completes Archimedes Engine Build, Begins Engine Test Campaign". www.businesswire.com. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  40. ^ "Rocket Lab Completes Merger with Vector Acquisition Corporation to Become Publicly Traded End-to-End Space Company". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.