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New Zealand company launches own rocket


Peter B

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Crikey! The Kiwis beat us again! (But seriously, well done guys.)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-22/new-zealand-successfully-launches-first-rocket-into-space/9347886

(The article includes a short video showing the preparation and launch of the rocket.)

Quote

New Zealand has trumped Australia in the space race, with a spaceflight start-up successfully launching a rocket from its own launch pad on the North Island.

The launch, in the Mahia Peninsula, has been marketed as a major advance in the space industry that will allow smaller companies to launch satellites in to space at a relative fraction of the cost.

"Space is now open for business," the American-New Zealand company Rocket Lab said.

Edited by Peter B
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Except Rocket Lab is not really a New Zealand company, it is American with a NZ subsidiary. Although founded by a New Zealander, Peter Beck, it has its headquarters in California. The Electron rocket, although assembled and launched in New Zealand, is manufactured in the USA.

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I'm pretty excited how private companies have been taking up the mantle of space travel.  They've been making it more efficient and cost effective.

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10 hours ago, MordorOrc said:

That's Kiwi enough for us. 

Not Kiwi enough for Rocket Labs though, their web site, rocketlabusa.com, is a bit of a give away.

However if you are willing to accept a US manufactured rocket being launched from New Zealand as Kiwi then you have just conceded defeat to Australia as the first southern hemisphere nation to launch a satellite. The Australian WRESAT satellite was launched by a Sparta rocket (a modified US Redstone) from Woomera in November 1967.

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8 hours ago, Spirit Ninja said:

I'm pretty excited how private companies have been taking up the mantle of space travel.  They've been making it more efficient and cost effective.

Cheaper yes. Efficient we'll have to wait and see.

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22 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

Except Rocket Lab is not really a New Zealand company, it is American with a NZ subsidiary. Although founded by a New Zealander, Peter Beck, it has its headquarters in California. The Electron rocket, although assembled and launched in New Zealand, is manufactured in the USA.

So which company launched the rocket - the American holding company or the New Zealand subsidiary? I suspect the New Zealand subsidiary - or why bother having it? 

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On 1/23/2018 at 0:28 PM, Derek Willis said:

So which company launched the rocket - the American holding company or the New Zealand subsidiary? I suspect the New Zealand subsidiary - or why bother having it? 

Wikipedia lists the rocket's country of origin as New Zealand as it was assembled and launched here. Most of the components were designed and manufactured in the US, which has the technological base for this kind of development. One of the companies that provided initial funding for the project is Callaghan Innovation, which is a Crown entity that was set up to make New Zealand businesses more innovative. 

On 1/23/2018 at 3:12 AM, Waspie_Dwarf said:

Not Kiwi enough for Rocket Labs though, their web site, rocketlabusa.com, is a bit of a give away.

It doesn't matter if the company is based in the US or not because it was founded and is owned by a New Zealander, assembles rockets in New Zealand, is partially funded by the New Zealand taxpayer and it launches rockets from New Zealand. 

Quote

However if you are willing to accept a US manufactured rocket being launched from New Zealand as Kiwi then you have just conceded defeat to Australia as the first southern hemisphere nation to launch a satellite. The Australian WRESAT satellite was launched by a Sparta rocket (a modified US Redstone) from Woomera in November 1967.

I don't know where I claimed this but sure, whatever floats your boat. However I'd appreciated it if you just kept your opinions to yourself from now on if you're going to embarrass yourself like this. 

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It's a magnificent achievement, how ever you parcel out credit. The Kiwi role in making it happen was no small thing and it was launched from The Land of the Long White Cloud. Let's let them have their day in the sun.

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1 hour ago, MordorOrc said:

Wikipedia lists the rocket's country of origin as New Zealand as it was assembled and launched here. Most of the components were designed and manufactured in the US, which has the technological base for this kind of development. One of the companies that provided initial funding for the project is Callaghan Innovation, which is a Crown entity that was set up to make New Zealand businesses more innovative. 

It doesn't matter if the company is based in the US or not because it was founded and is owned by a New Zealander, assembles rockets in New Zealand, is partially funded by the New Zealand taxpayer and it launches rockets from New Zealand. 

I don't know where I claimed this but sure, whatever floats your boat. However I'd appreciated it if you just kept your opinions to yourself from now on if you're going to embarrass yourself like this. 

I totally agree the launch was a success for New Zealand. I remember when Rocket Lab was founded, and it was a 100% Kiwi effort. Rocket Lab has American connections because (a) they raised venture capital there, and (b) at one point they weren't sure if they would be granted permission to launch satellites from New Zealand, and so applied for a licence to launch from Cape Canaveral.

Satellite launch companies have to obtain licences from the country where the launch will take place, or from where the complete launch system originates (e.g. if the rocket is air launched above the ocean). This is to satisfy insurance rules derived from the Outer Space Treaty. Countries therefore insist the company is registered within their territory and is regulated by their laws. That does not stop the company from being a subsidiary of a foreign company. There are a few exceptions, but they then have to abide by international law.

So, despite what some people might say, this is a major success for New Zealand!

 

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