Rocket Lab completes two missions in 24 hours, one for each hemisphere
The company also added that it was the first time a launch operator had completed a mission in each hemisphere in that timeframe. Rocket Lab, founded in New Zealand maintains launch pads at both the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and in New Zealand. Rocket Lab has touted its ability to launch satellites from both the USA and New Zealand. When the Virginia launch pad was operational in 2022 the CEO of Rocket Lab, Peter Beck, said that it allowed customers to have “unmatched control” over their launch schedules and orbital requirements. Rocket Lab operates a suborbital Electron version, Hypersonic Test Electron Suborbital Accelerator (HASTE), from its American launch pad. HASTE serves as a testing ground for suborbital and hypersonic technologies. These most recent launches include a HASTE Suborbital Launch from Virginia, for an unnamed Customer, and a launch of a French Company Kineis satellites from Mahia Island in New Zealand. The company has launched 14 satellites so far in this year. However, there are unlikely to be many more. Rocket Lab’s most recent earnings report estimated that it would launch its rocket 15-18 times by 2024. Rocket Lab’s Space Systems division, which includes satellite design, manufacturing, and spacecraft manufacturing, is the main source of revenue for the company. For example, of the $105 million the company made in revenue in the third quarter this year, $21 millions came from launch services, and $84 from Space Systems.
This proportion may change a little when Rocket Lab’s medium-lift rocket Neutron is brought online in mid-next-year. The company estimates that it will launch the rocket three times in 2020, five times in 2030, and once in 2025.
