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I met Peter Beck (CEO/founder) at SmallSat 2014. Hat-tip for doing what he set out to do. He told me that a Ferrari was not much more than a bunch of carbon fib
by syedkarim 9y ago
I met Peter Beck (CEO/founder) at SmallSat 2014. Hat-tip for doing what he set out to do. He told me that a Ferrari was not much more than a bunch of carbon fiber, software, and fuel--and only costs $500,000. So there is no reason that a small rocket, which is also carbon fiber, software, and fuel, can't also be $500,000. Now that his launch vehicle is orbital, I'm looking forward to it someday being a half-million-dollar launch vehicle.
Minor quibble: The company is over ten years old; I don't think it's quite a startup anymore.
- cptaj 9y agoThey haven't made their first commercial launch yet. They've certainly received money for scheduled launches in the future, but I'd say they're definitely just getting started. Some industries have longer incubation periods =)
- mappu 9y agoI think this launch was commercial - it put three satellites from two private companies (Planet Labs / Spire Global) into orbit.
- cryptoz 9y ago> The company is over ten years old; I don't think it's quite a startup anymore. The age of a company has nothing to do with it being a startup. There's a good description of 'startup' in PG's essay here: http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html Startups are businesses that are designed to grow quickly. Rocket Lab is. Just because it's been 10 years doesn't mean it's not a startup. Also, both SpaceX and Tesla are startups. Tesla recently pivoted from being a car company to an energy company, and is only about 1% or so of their way along to their goals. SpaceX has not even begun with their goals of colonizing Mars yet. These are all startups because they are designed to grow quickly and are nowhere near their goals yet.