[[Home|🏠]] <span style="color: LightSlateGray">></span> [[Interviews]] <span style="color: LightSlateGray">></span> July 1 2015 **Insider**: [[Peter Beck]] **Source**: [Paul Henry Show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj-dGr1KCAo) **Date**: July 1 2015 ![](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj-dGr1KCAo) 🔗 Backup Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj-dGr1KCAo ## 🎙️ Transcript >[!hint] Transcript may contain errors or inaccuracies. **Interviewer:** The company Rocket Lab is looking to build the country's first launch facility in Canterbury. This is brilliant! It has identified a remote paddock near Birdling's Flat as its preferred launch site for a rocket that can carry a satellite into orbit. With me now is Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. Peter, good morning to you. **Peter Beck:** Morning Paul. **Interviewer:** Congratulations as you know. Let's tackle the elephant in the room firstly, shall we? The last time we spoke, I bet you $20 that you wouldn't launch a rocket. I have $20 in my hand, and I will very, very reluctantly send this to you. **Peter Beck:** That's fantastic! Hey Paul, do you want to go double or nothing on to orbit? **Interviewer:** Double or nothing on to orbit? Great! Anything that delays having to pay your money, I will do. So we better explain this - so double or nothing means we've got a $40 bet now. You're still out for 20 but I'm up for 40, double or nothing, and that you will not be able to launch a rocket into orbit, correct? **Peter Beck:** Correct. ### Launch Timeline and Site Selection **Interviewer:** When do you hope to do that? **Peter Beck:** Look, we're trying to get our first test flight underway by the end of the year. So we're working really hard to achieve that. **Interviewer:** How important to your success is having a committed launch site, as this site in Canterbury? **Peter Beck:** Look, it's absolutely critical. I mean, you know, when we started this project, we went over to America and we went to all the launch ranges in America. And you know, it was clear that there's just no way that we could deliver on our goals by launching out of America. So we had to find somewhere on the planet that was a small island nation in the middle of nowhere, that had desolate air traffic and marine and shipping, was friendly, stable government, and all those kinds of things. And there's really only one country on the planet that fit all our requirements, and that was New Zealand. **Interviewer:** Fantastic! What's standing in your way? Do you think, do you know of anything that's actually standing in your way? **Peter Beck:** Well, I mean, it is rocket science, Paul. There's... it's kind of tricky. Space is hard. Technically, we're in really good shape. I mean, the Rutherford engines are running really well, and the vehicle is coming together very nicely. You know, we have to launch under an FAA license, so there's a huge licensing process that we go through. And we have to build the launch site, so there's a resource consent process that we have to go through as well. ### Regulatory Process **Interviewer:** What are your understandings - only you've identified this particular site - what are your understandings around the likelihood that you're going to get the okay to use it? **Peter Beck:** Well, we've started the process, and you know, this is us coming out and declaring our intentions. We think it's a great site. I mean, the site's been used for rocket launching since the 1960s. **Interviewer:** And you want to lease one rocket a week? **Peter Beck:** Not from that site. I mean, that's from multiple sites around the country. Out of Birdling's Flat, once a month would be the maximum we would look at. ### Environmental Concerns **Interviewer:** All right. Now I heard the Greens... what you don't want is commentary from the Greens on this, but obviously someone went to the Greens, and they are very worried about a particular native lizard. **Peter Beck:** It's a little bit ironic really, given you know the Greens are using Cape Canaveral as an example. But of course, we're not building Cape Canaveral. Cape Canaveral is, ironically, one of the most thriving and robust wildlife parks and refuges in America. So the two activities coexist very nicely. **Interviewer:** With that nicely said, that knocks on the head any kind of arguments the Greens can possibly have, thank God! ### International Significance **Interviewer:** Where does this place us internationally? If you're up and running, you've got a site in Canterbury, where does this place us internationally in terms of the space race? **Peter Beck:** Well, I mean, there's only been ten other nations that have ever put their own satellite into orbit, and most of those nations are superpowers. So you know, it's a significant achievement for New Zealand. And Rocket Lab will be the second private company in the world ever to have done that as well, when we finally achieve it. So it's a big deal. And when we're launching at the flight rate we are, you know, New Zealand will be launching more satellites to orbit than any other nation on the planet. **Interviewer:** Brilliant! Brilliant, Peter. I wish you all the very best. We're going to follow this with a lot of interest, as incidentally I always have, because I didn't see the $20 bet against you ever launching a rocket as being commercial. I believe I'm actually the wind beneath your wings. I think that what I was doing was further inspiring you and giving you the momentum to achieve what you've achieved. **Peter Beck:** Absolutely, Paul. I have not forgotten that all this time. ### Conclusion **Interviewer:** Brilliant. Thank you, feeling you take care, and again, congratulations mate. You've done great work so far. That's Peter Beck there, and you know, this is state-of-the-art stuff. As I said before, this is the cutting edge of the knowledge wave. Anyone stands in their way, and they'll have me to answer for. Founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, Peter Beck.