Another Private Rocket Company Competes With SpaceX, Successful Test Reaches Space

There’s no denying that Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the most popular private space company in the business right now. However, it’s not the only one. Another American company successfully launched a rocket from a New Zealand site, which reached space. It didn’t go as far as hitting orbit, but it’s still a huge leap for the private space sector.

The company in question is called Rocket Lab and it’s based in Southern California, The Los Angeles Times reports. Its rocket, dubbed Electron, successfully broke through the planet’s atmosphere Wednesday night. Unfortunately, it was supposed to reach a stable orbit, but the rocket failed to do so.

It was a good thing the rocket did not carry any payload like a satellite or supplies. More than that, it’s also the first test by Rocket Lab and they have two more in play. All in all, there were a lot more things that could have gone seriously wrong.

With that said, the company is still under a lot of pressure to deliver a successful test that achieves everything it sets out to do. Rocket Lab is already under contract from NASA and other private companies. Moving its business to a commercial model is essential for the company in order to become profitable.

As BBC notes, this is also the first time that a rocket was launched into space from New Zealand. It’s a clear sign that the emerging market of private space companies is only getting more interesting. While the company did not want the media or spectators anywhere near the launch site, the company did release a video via Tweet. As the company’s chief executive Peter Beck said, they’ll be looking into why the rocket failed to meet its mission parameters.

"We'll be investigating why, however reaching space in our first test puts us in an incredibly strong position to accelerate the commercial phase of our programme, deliver our customers to orbit and make space open for business," Beck said.