Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab designs and launches orbital rockets from New Zealand, making it one of only a handful of companies in the world with a proven launch vehicle.
- Founded:
- 2006
- Location:
- Long Beach, California (launch site: Mahia Peninsula, NZ)
- Website:
- rocketlabusa.com
- Listed:
- Nasdaq (2021, US$4.1b valuation)
- What they do:
- Orbital launch, spacecraft and space systems
- Launch vehicle:
- Electron (operational), Neutron (in development)
Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab designs and launches orbital rockets from New Zealand, making it one of only a handful of companies in the world with a proven launch vehicle.
Rocket Lab is an aerospace company founded by Peter Beck in Auckland in 2006. Its Electron rocket, launched from the Mahia Peninsula on the North Island's east coast, has become one of the most frequently flown commercial launch vehicles in the world. The company listed on the Nasdaq in 2021 at a valuation of US$4.1 billion.
Beck is now developing Neutron, a larger reusable rocket designed to compete for heavier payloads and human spaceflight contracts. Rocket Lab also builds spacecraft and space systems components, making it a vertically integrated space company rather than just a launch provider.
Why Noteworthy
Rocket Lab proved that a New Zealander could build a space launch company from scratch. The Mahia Peninsula launch site made New Zealand only the eleventh country to reach orbit, and Beck remains the most internationally recognised NZ tech founder of his generation.
About this profile
This profile was researched and written by Noteworthy using publicly available sources. If something here is out of date or incorrect, let us know and we’ll review it.
