Rocket Lab Launches Into Top Tier With New Rocket and Public Stock

摘要

In a video accompanying dueling announcements March 1 explaining how his 15-year-old startup will become a publicly traded company and soon boast a medium-lift launcher alongside its proven smaller-payload rocket, CEO Peter Beck cuts up a company-branded hat and eats part of it. The stunt makes good on an earlier promise to do that if Rocket Lab ever tried to venture beyond the 18-m (60-ft.) Electron. "There are some things we said we'd never do, but we're going to build a big rocket," Beck says to the camera with a Mona Lisa smile. Beck has a lot to smile about. The Long Beach, California-based startup has signed a reverse-merger deal with Vector Acquisition, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by longtime technology company investor Alex Slusky. The public debut, under the trading ticker "RKLB," is expected this quarter after the deal closes. Rocket Lab initially will have a $4.1 billion valuation.