Rocket Lab to construct new spacecraft and fund a private mission to Venus

Peter Beck, CEO of up-and-coming company Rocket Lab, has announced his plans to construct a better version of the Electron spacecraft, called Neutron, and shared insight over an Artemis-related mission regarding a privately funded expedition to Venus.

From small startup to creating secure and affordable spacecraft

Rocket Lab was established over a decade ago as a spacecraft construction company by Peter Beck. Beck who launched the company from scratch with a defined goal to build small and reliable, and relatively inexpensive launch vehicles that would be used for most, if not all, payload shuttles. He was successful; the Electron launch vehicle has become one of the most sought-after spacecraft for cargo transportation to space.

However Beck isn’t finished yet and has announced that Rocket Lab will be upgrading its Electron rocket with Photon, expanding the existing design with new technology and better support. Not only that, but the company has already started working on an improvement to the Electron itself – a larger transport launcher called Neutron. The new launcher will be much larger than its predecessor, with the ability to transport three times as much cargo for the same amount of time and money.

Rocket Lab joins an Artemis-related lunar mission

Besides bringing innovation to its existing launch vehicles, Rocket Lab has begun expanding its interests by securing a place on the Artemis lunar mission. NASA announced earlier this year that the Artemis mission would aim to place astronauts on the moon for the second time. ETA for the mission launch is somewhere within this decade.

Peter Beck from Rocket Lab has used his company’s success to further expand its endeavours into various projects and missions, including the privately funded mission to Venus to happen within the decade. Rocket Lab has managed to secure full funding for the mission and is expected to go public later this year, if further pandemic restrictions don’t take effect.