Thread by @thesheetztweetz

I spoke to Rocket Lab CEO @Peter_J_Beck after today's Neutron rocket update, and learned more about the company's plans.

Thread: $RKLB
cnbc.com/2021/12/02/roc…

@Peter_J_Beck Rocket Lab is still targeting Neutron on the launchpad by 2024, and hopes to launch a commercial customer on the rocket by 2025.
cnbc.com/2021/12/02/roc…

@Peter_J_Beck Beck declined to comment on the price tag of a Neutron launch, but said the rocket “would be a pointless exercise” if Rocket Lab “didn’t think that we would be very cost competitive with with anything that’s currently in the market or or being proposed.”
cnbc.com/2021/12/02/roc…

@Peter_J_Beck Beck did not rule out “ever landing on a drone ship,” noting that there are “a bunch of use cases were landing on a drone is advantageous,” but emphasized that returning to the launch site is “the most cost effective” approach.
cnbc.com/2021/12/02/roc…

@Peter_J_Beck Instead of landing legs that unfold, Neutron will have a “static base” with no mechanisms in place. The rocket will have “shock absorbers” built into that base for the impact of landing, Beck said.
cnbc.com/2021/12/02/roc…

@Peter_J_Beck The only part of Neutron that is not reusable is the upper stage, which deploys from within the rocket.

The design enables it to be very lightweight, with a “super thin structure.”

"It’s just literally hung like a balloon underneath the payload"
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@Peter_J_Beck Neutron is designed to be turned around from landing to another launch within 24 hours.

“Not because I actually want to cycle the vehicle in 24 hours, but because that drives all of the requirements that we want in a positive direction"
cnbc.com/2021/12/02/roc…

@Peter_J_Beck Beck said Rocket Lab is “running a very competitive process” for the Neutron manufacturing plant and is “close to nailing that down.”
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@Peter_J_Beck One crucial aspect of the Neutron facility is that it needs to be close to the launch site, as Beck said the company will not flip it horizontal to ship it to a location.

“It starts off out of the factory vertical and it spends its whole life vertical"
cnbc.com/2021/12/02/roc…

@Peter_J_Beck While the company is “focusing on delivering cargo at this point in time,” Beck said that the company’ is “making sure we don’t preclude ourselves” from using Neutron to launch astronauts at some point.

“I’ve eaten enough hats now"
cnbc.com/2021/12/02/roc…

@Peter_J_Beck For now, Rocket Lab is not internally developing a crew capsule.

“We need to see more growth on the customer side, as there’s really one customer – that’s NASA – and they’re well served."
cnbc.com/2021/12/02/roc…