Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Rocket Lab celebrates its 50th launch - and 46th from Mahia

Hawkes Bay Today
21 Jun, 2024 04:01 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Rocket Lab brings up its 50th launch on Friday morning, launching an Electron rocket from its Mahia base carrying five satellites for a French company. Photo / Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab brings up its 50th launch on Friday morning, launching an Electron rocket from its Mahia base carrying five satellites for a French company. Photo / Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab has celebrated its 50th rocket launch with a successful early morning mission from its launch pad in Mahia.

The No Time Toulouse mission lifted off from Mahia at 6.13am today, carrying five satellites.

The company, set up by Kiwi Peter Beck, has its headquarters in the United States but launches most of its Electron rockets from the Mahia Peninsula in northern Hawke’s Bay.

The No Time Toulouse mission was the company’s 50th launch of its 18-metre Electron rockets and the 46th launch from Mahia. The other four launches have been in the US.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rocket Lab’s first launch was from Mahia in 2017.

“Fifty launches later, Electron is the most successful commercial small rocket globally,” Beck said of the milestone.

“Making it to 50 launches faster than any commercially developed rocket in history is testament to the incredible team we have behind us.

“Today’s precise, tailored mission for [French satellite operator] Kineis is yet another demonstration of the value Electron continues to provide to the small sat community.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Congratulations to our team and thank you to our customers and supporters.”

The company is working on a bigger rocket than the Electron, which will be called Neutron and be more than 40m high.

“To put it into context, Electron lifts about 300 kilograms to orbit; Neutron will lift 13,000kg to orbit,” Beck formerly told Hawke’s Bay Today.

That rocket won’t launch in New Zealand. It will be launched from Rocket Lab’s US launch site at Wallops Island, Virginia.


Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Taradale scupper Pirates to continue club rugby reign

13 Jul 12:44 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre

12 Jul 06:00 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

‘Still there’: Removal of logging machine sent tumbling over cliff proving tricky

12 Jul 05:59 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Taradale scupper Pirates to continue club rugby reign

Taradale scupper Pirates to continue club rugby reign

13 Jul 12:44 AM

The Mighty Maroons send 'Red' off in style.

New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre

New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre

12 Jul 06:00 PM
‘Still there’: Removal of logging machine sent tumbling over cliff proving tricky

‘Still there’: Removal of logging machine sent tumbling over cliff proving tricky

12 Jul 05:59 PM
Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

12 Jul 12:43 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP