Rocket Lab

Organisation Summary

This crew blasted onto the front page in November 2009, with the launch of Atea-1, a rocket designed to reach the sub-orbital regions of space.

Products & Services

• Atea-1 Suborbital rocket: 2kg payloads up to 150km altitude.
  • The first launch took place 30 November 2009, and was a partial success. The booster section was recovered a few days after launch, but the payload and avionics section was never recovered.
• Atea-2 Suborbital rocket: 25kg payloads up to 250km altitude.

• Hi-Tac High Temperature Ablative Coating
• Composite Ablative Nose Cones
• HI-NOZ High Temperature Rocket Nozzle Bulk Moulding Compound
• Liner Bond EPMD Insulation Bonding Resin
• Hybrid 90A Hybrid Rocket Propellant]
• Solid Fuel Binder
• SRA Sounding Rocket Avionics Flight Computer

Key Staff or Stakeholders

• Peter Beck, CEO & Technical Director
• Mark Rocket, Company Director
• Nikhill Raghu, Senior Engineer

Press & Articles

• Space company sells its rocket technology to US (2010-12-01, NZ Herald)

  Rocket Lab said it had signed a deal with L2 Aerospace, a company focused on developing innovative flight systems, technologies and solutions for the commercial, civilian and military markets.

• Local rocket buffs catch Nasa's eye (2010-09-12, NZ Herald)

  Beck told the Herald on Sunday that Rocket Lab had received a research grant from the US Office of Naval Research to study new rocket propulsion methods and fuels.

• NZ rocket launches into space (2009-11-30, NZ Herald)

  New Zealand's first space rocket has launched this afternoon.
  The Atea-1 took off from its launch site at Great Mercury Island just before 3pm, after technical problems delayed this morning's planned launch.