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It's interesting seeing the difference between the publicity that SpaceX gets, and the publicity of other rocket companies like RocketLab get. It shows how eff

It's interesting seeing the difference between the publicity that SpaceX gets, and the publicity of other rocket companies like RocketLab get. It shows how effective the PR machine for SpaceX is. RocketLabs launch is pretty significant, considering it's the first orbital launch of a rocket designed and built in a small nation. This has barely hit the news. I guess part of the reason is that it's not in the USA, and that New Zealand isn't capable of putting nuclear warheads on top of one, unlike North Korea.

boznz 9y ago
I'm sure it will get plenty of coverage here tonight. I think the news channels are over the PM getting pregnant and there are no rugby matches on :-)
- lostlogin 9y ago
  Careful where you go for that news as talkback radio will be (more) deadly for the next year or two. Overheard at a grey power cuppa yesterday, ‘She was pregnant when negotiating to be Prime Minister did you know? It’s unbelieveable’.
  - EdwardDiego 9y ago
    This is the go to conspiracy theory - and that the only reason Winston agreed to the coalition was so that he could be gasp acting Prime Minister when she went on maternity leave. For six whole weeks. I'm not entirely sure what they expect Winnie to get up to in six weeks.
jimjimjim 9y ago
yep, it's quite amazing how little reporting of this there has been from US sites. news sites from other countries had much more coverage.
Denzel 9y ago
Seems par for the course don't you think, SpaceX didn't receive much coverage for their grasshopper tests or Falcon 1 flights either? In fact, most of their coverage has just come in the last couple of years after working diligently for ~13 years prior to that. Ironically I was led to watch RocketLabs launch by r/SpaceX.
bacon_waffle 9y ago
Beyond not having nuclear weapons to put on a rocket - we're quite disinterested in having anything to do with them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_nuclear-free_zone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_nuclear-free_zone
- lostlogin 9y ago
  Disinterested with a touch of virulent hatred for them.
  - lulmerchant 9y ago
    There's an element in New Zealand that has a blindly hysterical anti-nuclear stance. Then there are others who understand that nuclear energy is one of the cleanest and safest forms of energy, and that refusing to admit American naval vessels into our waters is just a pointless diplomatic affront to our strongest ally. There's an excellent reason to not have nuclear energy in New Zealand, which is that we don't need it. We already have 80% renewable electricity production, and we could realistically bridge that gap with cheaper methods than a nuclear power plant. However, just being "anti-nuclear" for the sake of being "anti-nuclear" isn't one of them.
    - fv3y 9y ago
      New Zealand's anti-nuclear stance has nothing to do with nuclear power. The reason we don't allow American warships into our waters is because we disapprove of nuclear weapons, whether powered by or as a payload.
      - lulmerchant 9y ago
        >New Zealand's anti-nuclear stance has nothing to do with nuclear power. This is absolutely false. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/nuclear-free-new-zealand/nuclear-free-zone https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/nuclear-free-new-zealand/... >Labour campaigned against nuclear propulsion and weapons >Labour announced its decision to ban ships that were either nuclear-powered or -armed. >party activists were unwilling to draw distinctions between nuclear propulsion and nuclear weapons. The mood of the nation was also turning against such political manoeuvring. >Following confidential discussions over the selection of an acceptable ship, in late 1984 the United States requested that the ageing guided-missile destroyer USS Buchanan visit New Zealand. The Americans hoped that a perception that it was not nuclear-armed would be enough for it to slip under the political radar, and believed they had Lange’s agreement. But on 4 February 1985 the government said no. ‘Near-uncertainty was not now enough for us,’ Lange later explained. ‘Whatever the truth of its armaments, its arrival in New Zealand would be seen as a surrender by the government.’ In response, Washington severed visible intelligence and military ties with New Zealand and downgraded political and diplomatic exchanges. George Shultz confirmed that the United States would no longer maintain its security guarantee to New Zealand, although the ANZUS treaty structure remained in place. In any case, even if your claim was true (and it quite clearly isn't), rejecting the alliance with our strongest and one of one of our closest allies over the issue isn't a good move, no matter what way you look at it.
adventured 9y ago
Isn't Rocket Lab a US start-up, funded almost entirely by US money, operated by US executives, with headquarters in Huntington Beach CA and a New Zealand subsidiary?
- syedkarim 9y ago
  American money paying for New Zealand operations. Source: Me; I was almost a customer.
  - techdragon 9y ago
    It’s a little more complex than that. But that’s not a bad summary.
- toomanybeersies 9y ago
  It was started in New Zealand, and got its initial investment from New Zealand, but the majority of funding now comes from America and the majority of ownership is American. However, most of the R&D, operations, and manufacturing are done in New Zealand. I almost applied for a job there, but it would've required relocating to Auckland, which I wasn't willing to do.
  - lancewiggs 9y ago
    Come on over - life is amazing here in Auckland.
    - elyobo 9y ago
      Unless you'd like to buy a house there or drive anywhere ;)
    - toomanybeersies 9y ago
      I actually recently emigrated over the ditch to Melbourne from Wellington. If I do go back to New Zealand, it would be to Christchurch, where I went to university. The lifestyle in Christchurch is a lot more laid back, more outdoor activities (great skiing and hunting), and rent is a lot cheaper. Unfortunately the market for Ruby developers is practically non-existent in New Zealand, so I don't think it would be practical for me to move back to NZ for the next 5 years or so.
erdle 9y ago
If you're curious about the PR machine associated with SpaceX... see Tesla's stock price and news versus the very real and known issues with their debt/liabilities and production.
- virgilp 9y ago
  Do remember that there may be interested parties painting a bleaker "production issues"/ "liabilities" picture than the truth. See e.g. this review [1]. [1] http://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/17280/tesla-model-3-the-first-serious-review http://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/17280/tesla-model-3-the-fir...
ioquatix 9y ago
> New Zealand isn't capable of putting nuclear warheads on top of one I'm pretty sure we could if we actually wanted to. But we have a staunch anti-Nuclear policy :)
- universenz 9y ago
  ..and we also know that it's not how big your button is, but how you use it. We'd rather use ours to push human kind forward.
hyperpallium 9y ago
reusability; spaceships landing upright like they were always supposed to; mars
mikeash 9y ago
You don’t generally make the news for doing things others have done before you. Don’t get me wrong, this company is cool and their success is super exciting, but I see no reason for them to get any press coverage outside of specialty media. SpaceX was pretty quiet too when they were first starting out, and when they’re all over the news now it’s generally because they’re doing something new. I doubt nukes have anything to do with it. The Falcon 9 would be an atrociously bad ICBM.
- zik 9y ago
  RocketLab's doing incredibly innovative things. They're using an entirely new kind of rocket engine power cycle. This is the first new power cycle invented since the Full Flow Staged Combustion Cycle in the 1960s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_pump-fed_engine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_pump-fed_engine They're using entirely 3d printed rocket engines and also full carbon composite rocket bodies - another first for a rocket of this scale. Where it comes to "doing things others haven't done before you" they're doing an amazing job. SpaceX is doing great but nothing close to this.
  - soperj 9y ago
    don't know why this was down voted, it was informative. Thanks.
  - schiffern 9y ago
    Agree with everything you said, except >SpaceX is doing great but nothing close to this. This isn't just false, it's unnecessary. It takes nothing away from RocketLab to acknowledge that SpaceX has also done "incredibly innovative things," such as propulsive first stage landings.
  - JumpCrisscross 9y ago
    > This is the first new power cycle invented since the Full Flow Staged Combustion Cycle in the 1960s Yes, battery pump engines aware new for this scale of a rocket. No, it’s not the first new cycle since the 1960s.
lostlogin 9y ago
Im trying to imagine what would happen if nuclear capable launches were proposed in NZ. It wouldn’t be insurrection, but some something in that ballpark would happen.
dalbasal 9y ago
With SpaceX, I find it hard to fault them for this. Public interest in spacetech is inevitably tied to futurism, idealism, idealism, big ideas and such. SpaceX is building the biggest ever rockets, declaring mars as a goal, landing rockets on rafts like a sci-fi flick... Build the future stuff. They also launch geostationary satelites and supply the ICC, in fact that's what they do as a business. Whether you want to call this PR, vision, culture or whatever... SpaceX calls satelites and ICC transport "routine" work. It's how they do what they do, not what they do. What they do is the stuff that sounds like breakthroughs, breaking through the limitations keeping us stuck on earth. It's hard to rate psace companies on a coolness scale. Any space company is already way up on the scale. SpaceX... is like the hollywood version. In any case, huge congratulations toRocket Lab. A rocket company with weekly scheduled flights on a shoestring is a feat.
- ccozan 9y ago
  minor nitpick: I think you meant ISS [0] not ICC. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station
  - dalbasal 9y ago
    oops! Yep, ISS. Even though... launching war criminals to an off-world prison would be a great addition to Musk's comic book character persona. ..c Can you imagine the prison break edition!
juanmirocks 9y ago
This is this company's first launch and as such the company is not known for the general public. Moreover, no Elon Musk-like legend has showed up for RocketLab yet. Therefore, it is pretty comprehensible that this launch has received less coverage.
- t-brown 9y ago
  It was their second launch with the Electron. Wired (https://www.wired.com/story/rocket-lab-still-testing/ https://www.wired.com/story/rocket-lab-still-testing/), has an article about them.
JshWright 9y ago
> New Zealand isn't capable of putting nuclear warheads on top of one, unlike North Korea. North Korea couldn't put a warhead on top of this one either. The nominal payload of the Electron is 150kg. While there are nuclear warheads that small (the W80 is in that range), it's very unlikely North Korea has achieved anything close to that level of miniaturization.
snrplfth 9y ago
Also this is a cryogenic rocket which has to be kept cold and launched soon after fueling. Not terribly good for nuclear launches.

boznz 9y ago

I'm sure it will get plenty of coverage here tonight. I think the news channels are over the PM getting pregnant and there are no rugby matches on :-)

lostlogin 9y ago
Careful where you go for that news as talkback radio will be (more) deadly for the next year or two. Overheard at a grey power cuppa yesterday, ‘She was pregnant when negotiating to be Prime Minister did you know? It’s unbelieveable’.
- EdwardDiego 9y ago
  This is the go to conspiracy theory - and that the only reason Winston agreed to the coalition was so that he could be gasp acting Prime Minister when she went on maternity leave. For six whole weeks. I'm not entirely sure what they expect Winnie to get up to in six weeks.

jimjimjim 9y ago

yep, it's quite amazing how little reporting of this there has been from US sites. news sites from other countries had much more coverage.

Denzel 9y ago

Seems par for the course don't you think, SpaceX didn't receive much coverage for their grasshopper tests or Falcon 1 flights either? In fact, most of their coverage has just come in the last couple of years after working diligently for ~13 years prior to that. Ironically I was led to watch RocketLabs launch by r/SpaceX.

bacon_waffle 9y ago

Beyond not having nuclear weapons to put on a rocket - we're quite disinterested in having anything to do with them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_nuclear-free_zone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_nuclear-free_zone

lostlogin 9y ago
Disinterested with a touch of virulent hatred for them.
- lulmerchant 9y ago
  There's an element in New Zealand that has a blindly hysterical anti-nuclear stance. Then there are others who understand that nuclear energy is one of the cleanest and safest forms of energy, and that refusing to admit American naval vessels into our waters is just a pointless diplomatic affront to our strongest ally. There's an excellent reason to not have nuclear energy in New Zealand, which is that we don't need it. We already have 80% renewable electricity production, and we could realistically bridge that gap with cheaper methods than a nuclear power plant. However, just being "anti-nuclear" for the sake of being "anti-nuclear" isn't one of them.
  - fv3y 9y ago
    New Zealand's anti-nuclear stance has nothing to do with nuclear power. The reason we don't allow American warships into our waters is because we disapprove of nuclear weapons, whether powered by or as a payload.
    - lulmerchant 9y ago
      >New Zealand's anti-nuclear stance has nothing to do with nuclear power. This is absolutely false. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/nuclear-free-new-zealand/nuclear-free-zone https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/nuclear-free-new-zealand/... >Labour campaigned against nuclear propulsion and weapons >Labour announced its decision to ban ships that were either nuclear-powered or -armed. >party activists were unwilling to draw distinctions between nuclear propulsion and nuclear weapons. The mood of the nation was also turning against such political manoeuvring. >Following confidential discussions over the selection of an acceptable ship, in late 1984 the United States requested that the ageing guided-missile destroyer USS Buchanan visit New Zealand. The Americans hoped that a perception that it was not nuclear-armed would be enough for it to slip under the political radar, and believed they had Lange’s agreement. But on 4 February 1985 the government said no. ‘Near-uncertainty was not now enough for us,’ Lange later explained. ‘Whatever the truth of its armaments, its arrival in New Zealand would be seen as a surrender by the government.’ In response, Washington severed visible intelligence and military ties with New Zealand and downgraded political and diplomatic exchanges. George Shultz confirmed that the United States would no longer maintain its security guarantee to New Zealand, although the ANZUS treaty structure remained in place. In any case, even if your claim was true (and it quite clearly isn't), rejecting the alliance with our strongest and one of one of our closest allies over the issue isn't a good move, no matter what way you look at it.

adventured 9y ago

Isn't Rocket Lab a US start-up, funded almost entirely by US money, operated by US executives, with headquarters in Huntington Beach CA and a New Zealand subsidiary?

syedkarim 9y ago
American money paying for New Zealand operations. Source: Me; I was almost a customer.
- techdragon 9y ago
  It’s a little more complex than that. But that’s not a bad summary.
toomanybeersies 9y ago
It was started in New Zealand, and got its initial investment from New Zealand, but the majority of funding now comes from America and the majority of ownership is American. However, most of the R&D, operations, and manufacturing are done in New Zealand. I almost applied for a job there, but it would've required relocating to Auckland, which I wasn't willing to do.
- lancewiggs 9y ago
  Come on over - life is amazing here in Auckland.
  - elyobo 9y ago
    Unless you'd like to buy a house there or drive anywhere ;)
  - toomanybeersies 9y ago
    I actually recently emigrated over the ditch to Melbourne from Wellington. If I do go back to New Zealand, it would be to Christchurch, where I went to university. The lifestyle in Christchurch is a lot more laid back, more outdoor activities (great skiing and hunting), and rent is a lot cheaper. Unfortunately the market for Ruby developers is practically non-existent in New Zealand, so I don't think it would be practical for me to move back to NZ for the next 5 years or so.

erdle 9y ago

If you're curious about the PR machine associated with SpaceX... see Tesla's stock price and news versus the very real and known issues with their debt/liabilities and production.

virgilp 9y ago
Do remember that there may be interested parties painting a bleaker "production issues"/ "liabilities" picture than the truth. See e.g. this review [1]. [1] http://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/17280/tesla-model-3-the-first-serious-review http://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/17280/tesla-model-3-the-fir...

ioquatix 9y ago

> New Zealand isn't capable of putting nuclear warheads on top of one I'm pretty sure we could if we actually wanted to. But we have a staunch anti-Nuclear policy :)

universenz 9y ago
..and we also know that it's not how big your button is, but how you use it. We'd rather use ours to push human kind forward.

hyperpallium 9y ago

reusability; spaceships landing upright like they were always supposed to; mars

mikeash 9y ago

You don’t generally make the news for doing things others have done before you. Don’t get me wrong, this company is cool and their success is super exciting, but I see no reason for them to get any press coverage outside of specialty media. SpaceX was pretty quiet too when they were first starting out, and when they’re all over the news now it’s generally because they’re doing something new. I doubt nukes have anything to do with it. The Falcon 9 would be an atrociously bad ICBM.

zik 9y ago
RocketLab's doing incredibly innovative things. They're using an entirely new kind of rocket engine power cycle. This is the first new power cycle invented since the Full Flow Staged Combustion Cycle in the 1960s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_pump-fed_engine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_pump-fed_engine They're using entirely 3d printed rocket engines and also full carbon composite rocket bodies - another first for a rocket of this scale. Where it comes to "doing things others haven't done before you" they're doing an amazing job. SpaceX is doing great but nothing close to this.
- soperj 9y ago
  don't know why this was down voted, it was informative. Thanks.
- schiffern 9y ago
  Agree with everything you said, except >SpaceX is doing great but nothing close to this. This isn't just false, it's unnecessary. It takes nothing away from RocketLab to acknowledge that SpaceX has also done "incredibly innovative things," such as propulsive first stage landings.
- JumpCrisscross 9y ago
  > This is the first new power cycle invented since the Full Flow Staged Combustion Cycle in the 1960s Yes, battery pump engines aware new for this scale of a rocket. No, it’s not the first new cycle since the 1960s.

lostlogin 9y ago

Im trying to imagine what would happen if nuclear capable launches were proposed in NZ. It wouldn’t be insurrection, but some something in that ballpark would happen.

dalbasal 9y ago

With SpaceX, I find it hard to fault them for this. Public interest in spacetech is inevitably tied to futurism, idealism, idealism, big ideas and such. SpaceX is building the biggest ever rockets, declaring mars as a goal, landing rockets on rafts like a sci-fi flick... Build the future stuff. They also launch geostationary satelites and supply the ICC, in fact that's what they do as a business. Whether you want to call this PR, vision, culture or whatever... SpaceX calls satelites and ICC transport "routine" work. It's how they do what they do, not what they do. What they do is the stuff that sounds like breakthroughs, breaking through the limitations keeping us stuck on earth. It's hard to rate psace companies on a coolness scale. Any space company is already way up on the scale. SpaceX... is like the hollywood version. In any case, huge congratulations toRocket Lab. A rocket company with weekly scheduled flights on a shoestring is a feat.

ccozan 9y ago
minor nitpick: I think you meant ISS [0] not ICC. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station
- dalbasal 9y ago
  oops! Yep, ISS. Even though... launching war criminals to an off-world prison would be a great addition to Musk's comic book character persona. ..c Can you imagine the prison break edition!

juanmirocks 9y ago

This is this company's first launch and as such the company is not known for the general public. Moreover, no Elon Musk-like legend has showed up for RocketLab yet. Therefore, it is pretty comprehensible that this launch has received less coverage.

t-brown 9y ago
It was their second launch with the Electron. Wired (https://www.wired.com/story/rocket-lab-still-testing/ https://www.wired.com/story/rocket-lab-still-testing/), has an article about them.

JshWright 9y ago

> New Zealand isn't capable of putting nuclear warheads on top of one, unlike North Korea. North Korea couldn't put a warhead on top of this one either. The nominal payload of the Electron is 150kg. While there are nuclear warheads that small (the W80 is in that range), it's very unlikely North Korea has achieved anything close to that level of miniaturization.

snrplfth 9y ago

Also this is a cryogenic rocket which has to be kept cold and launched soon after fueling. Not terribly good for nuclear launches.