⭐️ Rocket Lab is the future of space

Peter Beck is charting his own course.

Peter Beck is charting his own course. It’s all in this subscriber-only Musk Reads+ 116.

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On December 2, the CEO of spaceflight firm Rocket Lab, Peter Beck, starred in a video that detailed the latest updates to the Neutron rocket. The upcoming reusable vehicle can send 8,000 kg (17,600 pounds) to low-Earth orbit or 1,500 kilograms (3,300 pounds) to Mars and Venus.

Venus, of course, is a pet favorite of Beck’s — see Musk Reads+ #9 for more on that.

The latest update video showed a series of fascinating features for Neutron:

• A unique, curved shape that enables rapid reusability

• The “lightest upper stage ever, in history”

• A wide, static base instead of deployable landing legs

• A unique Rocket Lab carbon composite material that makes the rocket lighter than ever — the first of its kind

• A “hungry hippo” fairing that stays fixed to the first stage

The Neutron rocket pairs with the Electron, the existing small rocket capable of sending 300 kg (661 pounds) to low-Earth orbit. The reusable rocket has completed 22 launches and successfully deployed 107 satellites.

Together, Beck claims the two can lift 90 percent of spacecraft planned for the next decade or so.