Disclosure: long on Rocket Lab<p>Another recent interview with Peter Beck, as a podcast<p><a href="https://www.wemartians.com/podcasts/118-planetary-exploration-at-rocket-lab-feat-peter-beck" rel="nofollow">https://www.wemartians.com/podcasts/118-planetary-exploratio...</a><p>It is clear from Rocket Lab's purchases of space hardware companies that they are well aware of SpaceX's downward pressure on launch prices, and are diversifying and vertically integrating their business, to include satellite design and build, as well as selling satellite components off the shelf like star trackers and (momentum) reaction control wheels.<p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/18/rocket-lab-acquires-solaero-holdings-for-80m-to-boost-space-solar-cell-production/amp/" rel="nofollow">https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/18/rocket-lab-acquires-solaer...</a><p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/15/rocket-lab-acquires-planetary-systems-corporation-in-cash-and-stock-deal/amp/" rel="nofollow">https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/15/rocket-lab-acquires-planet...</a><p><a href="https://spacenews.com/rocket-lab-acquires-software-company-as-it-plans-additional-deals/" rel="nofollow">https://spacenews.com/rocket-lab-acquires-software-company-a...</a><p><a href="https://www.rocketlabusa.com/space-systems/satellite-components/reaction-wheels/" rel="nofollow">https://www.rocketlabusa.com/space-systems/satellite-compone...</a>
I'm fairly bullish about Rocket Lab's chances. They're rolling their own engines, doing great work, and Peter Beck literally ate his own hat when he was wrong.
In terms of lack of launch on demand side. One thing that would solve this almost immediately is to re-purpose money from legacy science / launch efforts.<p>For example, take 4B/year from SLS. You could fund just an incredible amount of activity with that.
Never heard of this company -- SpaceX seems to have sucked the publicity oxygen out of the room.<p>> There’s gonna be a lot of launch vehicles sitting on a pad waiting for payloads in the next few years.<p>It wasn't clear if that was because the demand pipeline was "done" or it was a chicken and egg scenario of businesses not having that locked in to develop on, which raises an interesting question of how much business there is for satellites even if launching was cheap and trivial.
I'm looking forward to ~5 years from now when hopefully a lot of these small launch companies have gone under. They suck up insane amounts of venture capital and engineering talent. A few companies will certainly rise to the top, Rocket Lab likely being one of them.<p>My company (non-aerospace) just had a couple engineers leave for a different small launcher. I wish them success, but also wish their talent could be applied elsewhere. I say this as someone who just left the space industry.