$50,000 per kilogram might sound pricey, especially when compared to what SpaceX works out to, but considering that it's a dedicated launch, versus a rideshare, and they can go up at will--it's the best deal out there. It's a little more expensive than Dneppr, but they only have rideshares once a year. RocketLab's biggest competition, right now, is The Indian PSLV. They don't have set pricing, but I've heard that half of the stated RocketLab price is possible. But again, there is no regularity with PSLV.<p>There are a few other dedicated smallsat/cubesat launchers on the horizon, but that's also a three year horizon. For the time being, the Kiwis will have a monopoly. Unless, of course, Elon wants to being back the Falcon 1. I believe that rocket had a greater payload, but also was a bit more expensive. Lockheed is bringing back the Athena, but I doubt they will be cost-competitive with RocketLab.<p>These guys aren't exaggerating: This rocket is a huge deal for the advancement of the new space industry.
I saw this talk from Elon Musk a long time ago and he addresses some of the rocket technology being offered by other initiatives: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Q14cRsMs0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Q14cRsMs0</a><p>He seemed to give a very balanced perspective - I'd love to hear what his thoughts are on Rocket Lab's Electron, simply because he's in the know and seems to at least try and be objective in his commentary.
Are they pushing stuff to geo-synch orbit? Thats where the big business seems to lie. I thought the article was really vague and surprised it did not talk about Space X and other competitors.