[[Home|🏠]] <span style="color: LightSlateGray">></span> [[Interviews]] <span style="color: LightSlateGray">></span> August 25 2021 **Insider**: [[Peter Beck]] **Source**: [Bloomberg Technology](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRo5xrBFV58) **Date**: August 25 2021  🔗 Backup Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRo5xrBFV58 ## 🎙️ Transcript >[!hint] Transcript may contain errors or inaccuracies. **Host:** This morning, Rocket Lab is hot on the heels of SpaceX in the satellite market following the closure of its reverse merger with SPAC Vector Acquisition Corp. Joining us now is Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO, along with Bloomberg's space expert for TV, Ed Ludlow. Hey Peter, congratulations! I know it’s wicked late where you are right now, so we really appreciate your time. What is the potential you see in the used satellite or used rocket market—which you once vowed never to enter? **Peter Beck:** Yeah, well first off—we’re super excited to bring a really high-quality space asset to the markets. There have only been two private companies in the history of spaceflight that have delivered regular and reliable launch services: SpaceX and Rocket Lab. We're the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket today, with over 100 satellites delivered for both government and commercial customers. But we’re not stopping there. We have a new launch vehicle in development—the Neutron—which is even capable of carrying crew. People often forget we’re not just a launch company. We build satellites too. Right now, our team is flat-out building two satellites to go to Mars for NASA, one satellite to the Moon, and we already have two of our own satellites on orbit. What we’re trying to build is a generational leader in the space industry. It's exciting to finally bring this company to the public market so others can participate. **Ed Ludlow:** Peter, this is a crowded field—let’s be honest. SpaceX leads the way. Blue Origin wants in. Firefly. And of course, you—Rocket Lab. How much money can you actually make here? Elon Musk has said the launch side of his business tops out at $3 billion a year. Is there room for real profitability in launching rockets? **Peter Beck:** That’s the great thing. There’s a lot of emerging and aspirational competition, but really only two companies are delivering regular, reliable access to space: SpaceX and us. And Rocket Lab isn’t just a launch company—we’re an end-to-end space systems company. We build satellites, provide satellite components, build rockets, and will eventually provide space-based applications as well. Our business model is very well diversified across the entire space sector. **Ed Ludlow:** So where does the profit come from? Can you actually make money just launching rockets, or is the real opportunity in those next-stage projects—particularly around data? **Peter Beck:** The launch market is worth about $10 billion, and we’ve been the market leader in small launch for three years now. The satellite manufacturing market is about $20 billion. But the space data market—that’s a $320 billion opportunity. If you own your own rocket, your own launch pad, and can build your own satellites, then you’re in a unique position to build the infrastructure for that entire market. Right now, there’s only one other company besides Rocket Lab with that kind of capability. **Ed Ludlow:** Who are your customers, whether it’s for launch or for data? **Peter Beck:** Our customer base is about 50% government and 50% commercial. We’ve flown missions for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)—arguably the most discerning customer in the world—as well as NASA. We’ve flown multiple missions for foreign governments and companies, including from Japan and Germany. You name it—we’ve probably flown it. **Ed Ludlow:** You’ve raised more than $750 million through this SPAC transaction. What are you going to spend it on? **Peter Beck:** The Neutron program is a big part of it. Neutron is a large, fully reusable launch vehicle capable of carrying 8 tons to low Earth orbit, and it’s designed to carry crew as well. It'll be a direct competitor in the medium-lift market. We also have a strong inorganic growth strategy. Our first acquisition—a satellite components company—was a great success, and there are more to come. Consolidation is coming to this industry, and we want to make sure we're in a prime position to drive that. **Ed Ludlow:** Give me a sense of your company as a real player. What’s the total value of your current contracts? What revenue do you expect next year—and the year after? **Peter Beck:** That’s one of the biggest differences between us and a lot of other launch companies out there: we actually have revenue. We’ve booked over $100 million in small launch revenue alone. If you look at our SPAC projections, you'll see that revenue becomes more diversified as we add more space systems revenue—building satellites and beyond. And it’s worth noting: none of our projections include space data revenue. That’s just based on the bread-and-butter business we run today. **Ed Ludlow:** Final question—you're in Auckland right now, and it’s around 2 a.m. Will you have to move your headquarters to take advantage of the growing global demand? **Peter Beck:** No, we’re a U.S. company. Our headquarters is in Long Beach, California. I’m just in New Zealand at the moment. We have a large team in Long Beach, plus a launch pad in Virginia, and operations in Canada and New Zealand. We’re a truly global company.