Rocket Lab Expands Operations, Expects To Add 110+ New Hi-Tech Jobs To New Zealand

Rocket Lab Expands Operations, Expects to Add 110+ New Hi-Tech Jobs to New Zealand

Development of new Neutron rocket, rocket reusability R&D, and growth in satellite component manufacturing drives expansion of Rocket Lab's New Zealand footprint which has more than doubled since 2018

Auckland, New Zealand. 20 July 2022 – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it expanded into a new 24,000+ sq/ft research & development facility in Mt Wellington as it grows its operations in Auckland. The Company has now increased its New Zealand footprint 250% since moving into the Company’s Mt Wellington production complex in 2018. With the growth in R&D programs, increase in launch cadence and expanded satellite manufacturing services, Rocket Lab expects to create more than 110 new jobs in New Zealand by 2023.

The growth in footprint and headcount is driven by engineering and design development support for Rocket Lab’s new large Neutron rocket, acceleration of the Electron rocket reusability rocket program, and a new high-volume production line to manufacture satellite components for large scale constellations.

The new facility is situated beside Rocket Lab’s existing Auckland Production Complex (APC) in Mt Wellington, a state-of-the-art complex that houses large-scale robotics and extensive manufacturing capability to enable mass production of the Electron rocket, a global Mission Control Centre to support Electron launches and spacecraft operations, and office space for many of Rocket Lab’s approximately 600 current New Zealand team members. Late last year Rocket Lab added to APC a high-volume production line for reaction wheels, a critical component for many small satellites. The reaction wheel production line will produce up to 2,000 units per year in support of the Company’s growing space systems operations with advanced metal machining centres, automated production tools, and automated environmental testing workstations. With the inclusion of Rocket Lab’s new R&D facility, the Company’s operational footprint across its Auckland Production Complex now totals 287,000 sq/ft – a 250% increase since it was first opened in 2018.

The announcement is the latest development in Rocket Lab’s global growth, including the acquisition of three companies in late 2021 and early 2022 that expanded Rocket Lab’s locations to five states in the United States. Rocket Lab is also growing its footprint in Virginia, the home of its second Electron launch pad, with ongoing development of a production facility to build Rocket Lab’s new large Neutron launch vehicle. Rocket Lab also recently completed the build of a third launch pad for its Electron rocket, located at Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, Hawke’s Bay.

On the Company’s Auckland expansion, Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck says: “Securing this new space meaningfully expands not just our physical footprint but our capabilities as an end-to-end space company to support hundreds of missions not just with launch, but across the entire space economy. Our Auckland Production Complex is key to us being able to both launch more frequently, by building more Electrons faster or reflying them as our rocket reuse technology advances, and scaling our space systems division across our global locations – while at the same time, tapping into homegrown talent to work on world-leading technology and global missions. The growth of our operations in New Zealand will bring more high-tech jobs to the country and support the economic growth of both our local space industry and the Auckland region.”

www.rocketlabusa.com/about-us/updates/link-to-rocket-lab-imagery-and-video

 About Rocket Lab 
 

Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier and more affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle and the Photon satellite platform and is developing the Neutron 8-ton payload class launch vehicle. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 148 satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations, enabling operations in national security, scientific research, space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a second launch site in Virginia, USA which is expected to become operational in 2022. To learn more, visit www.rocketlabusa.com.

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