New Zealand company enters the space race with private launching

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>Rocket Lab's 'Electron' Marks First Orbital-Class Launch From a Private Pad

http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/news/a26638/rocket-lab-launches-electron-rocket-first-flight/

>Rocket Lab, a California-based spaceflight company with its roots in New Zealand, just launched its two-stage Electron rocket for the first time. The small launch vehicle successfully lifted off from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula of New Zealand at 12:20 a.m. ET on Thursday May 25—4:20 p.m. New Zealand time. The successful liftoff marks the first time an orbital-class rocket has been launched from a private launch facility.

>"It has been an incredible day and I'm immensely proud of our talented team," said Peter Beck, CEO and founder of Rocket Lab, in a press release. "We're one of a few companies to ever develop a rocket from scratch and we did it in under four years. We've worked tirelessly to get to this point. We've developed everything in house, built the world's first private orbital launch range, and we've done it with a small team."

>However, the test payload itself "didn't quite reach orbit." Rocket Lab is investigating the cause, and the company's engineers in Los Angeles and Auckland will be sifting through data from the launch in the coming weeks.

>Rocket lab has two more test flights planned for the Electron this year. On the second launch, the company will focus on getting its payload to orbit as well as increasing the payload size. The company says it wants to launch about 50 rockets a year at full production, and it has already signed contracts with customers like NASA and Moon Express.

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