COLORADO SPRINGS — With an eye on the future, it’s incredibly busy. This is a short and sweet comment from Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. In the pantheon of private space groups, Rocket Lab has been a huge success, and Baker hopes to keep it that way.
Founded in 2006, rocket labIt was developed with the mission of pioneering affordable access to space exploration. electronic, a launch vehicle designed specifically to carry small satellites into orbit. The rocket made its first successful orbital short-distance flight in January 2018 from the company’s New Zealand launch site on the Mahia Peninsula on the North Island.
Fast forward to today, Electron has flown 46 times and launched more than 180 satellites for private and public sector organizations, including U.S. national security payloads.
Rocket Lab, headquartered in Long Beach, California, has three launch pads, two of which are in New Zealand and the third on Wallops Island, Virginia.In addition, the company’s Photon spacecraft platform has been selected to support NASA’s lunar missions and MarsRocket Lab plans to launch photons in private space Venus life search mission.
Now, the company’s top priority is developing larger, partially reusable neutron rockets for deploying large spacecraft and satellite constellations.
As this brief summary shows, Rocket Lab has a lot of work to do.
“We joke that Rocket Lab’s year is like the year of the dog,” Baker said. “One year at Rocket Lab feels like five.”
Space.com caught up with the enterprising entrepreneur at the Space Foundation’s 39th Space Symposium here earlier this month. The following conversation has been edited for length.
related: Facts and information about Rocket Lab
Space.com: Space startups have a mixed track record—many come and go. How do you feel about your success and growth?
Peter Baker: I feel like an old man in the community now. First of all, I think we are very pragmatic. Execution is the key. One thing I observed when I got into the aerospace industry is that a lot of businesses develop something cool and then try to figure out how to sell it. We identify problems and then solve them. By creating value, you create something people want.
Space.com: What was the first problem you solved?
Baker: Initially, it was Electron. Huge growth in the small satellite industry and the need for small, dedicated launchers. So we start there. The plans are always grander.
Space.com: What do you think of “greater”?
Baker: Half of my brain is a driven entrepreneur. The other half of my brain is the engineering realist. They are always wrestling with each other. We end up stuck in the middle… We are ambitious and we pursue great things. But we’re also very careful and pragmatic about how we go about and execute them. We never bet the company on anything. We keep growing step by step.
Space.com: Did you grow up so fast that it was hard to focus on everything?
Baker: It doesn’t look like it’s getting any quieter, that’s for sure. Rocket Lab has a very unique and different culture. We acquired companies. So when you acquire a company, it’s another cultural challenge. But it’s very simple. Just do what you said you were going to do and follow through. There were about 1,800 of us, which was more than I thought. I think it’s important if you anchor some key elements and understand what makes you unique and then anchor those elements.
Space.com: In a little over a year, what milestones are ahead?
Baker: Two-thirds of our revenue is derived from our Space Systems business. A lot of people think of us as a rocket company. It doesn’t help when we name ourselves Rocket Lab.We are an end-to-end aerospace company, providing spacecraft design and manufacturing services, and satellite Components, flight software and other stuff. We are now side by side with other primes.
The thing that made the loud sucking sound in the room was the neutron launch vehicle. We have to put it on the mat. There are a lot of people who want boosters on their mats. We have a huge task ahead of us, not only to get it on the launch pad, but also to get Neutron into production and offer it as a reliable alternative at launch.
Space.com: In terms of space exploration at Rocket Lab, how is your private mission to Venus?
Baker: This is an example where the entrepreneur got a little carried away, but the engineer got it under control. Anyone involved brings their own resources. I admit, I love interstellar travel, and it really comes from the drive to answer the question: Are we the only life in the universe? Venus There is potential to answer this question, so it’s worth doing.
But we have a bunch of customers, satellites to build, rockets to deliver. So the Venus mission kept getting moved to the side because we had business to do. But if the entrepreneurial side takes over, we will launch it tomorrow. The reality is, we have to serve our customers first.
There’s a good Venus window next year, so maybe. I won’t commit to that. It depends on where we are. We have a lot to do at the moment and have big contracts to fulfill.
related: Is there life on Venus?Why this isn’t a ridiculous idea
Space.com: Rocket Lab serves as mission control center for multiple spacecraft, such as the private Methane satellite and Varda Aerospace Industries’ spacecraft space manufacturing efforts Harness your photon spaceship. Why is this role important to the company?
Baker: At the end of the day, we’re trying to build an end-to-end space company, and that includes mission operations. We can design, build and operate your spacecraft. The big, successful aerospace companies of the future will love the model we are building.
Space.com: Rocket Lab has also suffered launch failures. How painful is this experience?
Baker: Unfortunately, we are very strong in this area. We are proud to invite all clients to join our Failure Review Board. The Electron is a highly instrumented aircraft and we monitor many things very closely on every flight.We use artificial intelligence to conduct big data reviews on every flight [artificial intelligence] Use the materials and look for any anomalies or situations outside of the home. It’s all part of making sure you don’t fail. But it did happen.
The last failure It’s like 10 different things that all had to line up, and we had to go through thousands of hours of testing to get out the hard way. The sequence of events that unfolded with the final anomaly was astonishing. This is especially difficult for publishing. It takes no prisoners. There is no room for assumptions.
Space.com: Your successes outweigh your misfortunes. What’s happening on Rocket Lab’s factory floor in terms of manufacturing?
Baker: Manufacturing is manufacturing. I don’t think anything fundamentally has changed.Of course there are many techniques, e.g. 3D printing. We are the first company to put a 3D printed engine into orbit. Some companies have written entire papers around 3D printed rockets. This makes no sense to me. There are many buzzwords.
Metallic colors have not changed since the 1950s. Aluminum and stainless steel have the same strength. What changed was the rise of carbon fiber. We specifically implemented this across the entire launch vehicle. This gives us a real advantage in lightweight construction.
Space.com: Where do you see Rocket Lab in five or ten years?
Baker: It’s a long wait. But I do think large, successful aerospace companies will emulate what we’re building. That is, you already have your own launch. You have the ability to build any satellite you want at scale. You can deploy infrastructure at scale. This is where it all goes.
The evidence to prove this is Starlink Now. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation It won’t disappear. If you want to compete with them then you need to build whatever satellite you need to build and have your own journey into space.
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