Rocket Lab developed the Electron rocket and launched it from New Zealand.
Rocket Lab was founded in 2006 by New Zealand engineer Peter Beck. The company developed Electron as a small orbital launch vehicle designed primarily for deploying small satellites. Its main launch site, Launch Complex 1, is located on the Mahia Peninsula on New Zealand’s North Island.
Electron’s first orbital launch attempt took place in May 2017, but the mission failed to reach orbit. The second flight, called “Still Testing,” successfully reached orbit in January 2018. That flight made Rocket Lab the first private company to launch an orbital rocket from a private launch site in New Zealand.
Rocket Lab is sometimes confused with Firefly Aerospace, Relativity Space, and Astra, which also developed small launch vehicles. Electron is distinct for its electric turbopump-fed Rutherford engines and carbon-composite structure.