Show Notes
Tour 02: We’re back inside Rocket Lab with Founder & CEO Sir Peter Beck, this time for a behind-the-scenes tour of the company’s Engine Development Center and the technology powering Electron and its next-generation Neutron rocket. Peter walks us through Rocket Lab’s additive manufacturing operation, where the vast majority of its engines by mass are 3D printed, and breaks down the engineering behind Rutherford and the much larger Archimedes engine being built for Neutron. We see Archimedes thrust chambers, turbopumps, 12-laser metal 3D printers, the Rutherford engines powering Electron, and an Archimedes production line capable of producing an engine every eight days. Peter explains why Rocket Lab chose methane for Neutron, how designing for reusability changes almost every engineering decision, why an Archimedes engine must survive 40 starts and one hour of qualification burn time, and Rocket Lab’s goal of building a rocket that can come off the barge, go straight back onto the pad, and launch again. We also get into how Rocket Lab acquired more than $100 million of Virgin Orbit assets for $16 million, why Peter thinks some “zombie” space companies refuse to die, the difficulty investors have diligencing rocket companies, and why Rocket Lab believes vertical integration has been critical to its success. And Peter leaves us with his view on where the space industry goes from here: “I think the biggest thing to be done in space hasn't even been thought about, let alone talked about.”
This is Tour 02, the second and final part of our Rocket Lab factory tour.
Catch up on the full series: Part I: Our full sit-down interview with Sir Peter Beck Part II / Tour 01: Inside Rocket Lab HQ, Mission Control & Satellite Manufacturing Part III / Tour 02: Inside Rocket Lab’s Engine Development Center, Rutherford & Archimedes
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