Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Rocket Lab wants to build and launch a rocket every week

Newstalk ZB
4 Jul, 2017 08:36 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Rocket Lab's goal is to build and send rockets to space every week.

Rocket Lab's goal is to build and send rockets to space every week.

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck revealed the company plans to build a rocket and launch into space every week.

CEO Peter Beck told Newstalk ZB's Early Edition the company had six rockets in various stages of production in New Zealand and Los Angeles and the goal was to get production time down to a week.

"There's a large element of [automation]. We've embraced the latest technology in 3D printing and the latest in composite manufacturing."

Rocket Lab's goal was to launch a rocket to space every week, so the company would need to produce a rocket every week, Beck said.

Parliament passed the Outer Space and High-Altitude Activities Bill yesterday, which sets in place a legal framework for space industry in New Zealand.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Beck said the new law doesn't change anything for Rocket Lab.

"We operate amongst a lot of regulatory regimes in New Zealand and internationally. For us it's business as usual," Beck said.

Beck told the Herald Rocket Lab had constantly struggled to find enough highly skilled workers.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I don't need a PhD in transonic aerodynamics. What I actually need is aircraft technicians and more composite builders - those trades and skills are very hard to come by."

The company is hiring former America's Cup boat builders for its advanced composites work.

Rocket Lab's 17m-tall Electron Rocket is made of carbon fibre similar to that used in Team New Zealand's boat.

The composites team at the Auckland-based rocket maker is led by Ben Malcolm who worked with Team New Zealand on its last boat for its campaign in San Francisco.

Including contractors and part-timers, there are about 25 in Rocket Lab's composites team, a third of whom had worked with Team NZ.

Beck said top boat builders could transfer their skills to the space industry.

"It's really about craftsmanship. The America's Cup is very high end and has beautiful craftsmanship [but] not all boat builders would assimilate perfectly into building into space components" he said.

"You've got to be at the top of your game to work in the America's Cup and at the top of your game to work at Rocket Lab."

There are 11 countries that have been to orbit.

- with Grant Bradley

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save
    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

The husband and wife team taking the reins at New World Waipukurau

Hawkes Bay Today

Truck rollover in Hawke's Bay causes road delays

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Stuck in Middle Rd with ewes: Councillors against Havelock North development due to soil quality


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

The husband and wife team taking the reins at New World Waipukurau
Hawkes Bay Today

The husband and wife team taking the reins at New World Waipukurau

'I think we are going to love it here.'

22 Jul 10:17 PM
Truck rollover in Hawke's Bay causes road delays
Hawkes Bay Today

Truck rollover in Hawke's Bay causes road delays

22 Jul 09:42 PM
Premium
Premium
Stuck in Middle Rd with ewes: Councillors against Havelock North development due to soil quality
Hawkes Bay Today

Stuck in Middle Rd with ewes: Councillors against Havelock North development due to soil quality

22 Jul 06:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP