Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck called SpaceX's definition of success for its first Starship launch rubbish in his firm's earnings call for the second quarter. SpaceX launched the first Starship integrated test flight in April 2023, and ahead of the launch, the firm took a modest approach as it defined the success criteria as the rocket simply being able to clear the pad. SpaceX's modesty was prescient, as the test ended soon after Starship's upper stage failed to separate from the Super Heavy booster and led to the flight termination system destroying the vehicle four minutes into the flight.
Test Mission Success For Rocket Lab Is Neutron Rocket Reaching Orbit, Says CEO Peter Beck
While SpaceX's operational rocket, the Falcon 9, is a medium lift rocket and the only vehicle in the world with a reusable first stage booster capable of propulsive landing, Rocket Lab flies the Neutron small lift rocket, whose first stage booster it has often recovered as part of plans to test the rocket's performance. Rocket Lab is also developing the Neutron rocket, through which it aims to compete with SpaceX in the medium-lift rocket industry.
The Neutron is designed to have a 6,600 kilonewton thrust, which is lower than the Falcon 9's 7,600 kilonewtons. Like the Falcon 9, Rocket Lab also plans to land its Neutron rocket, with the first tests aiming to land the vehicle in the sea. The first Neutron launch is expected to occur during the second half of this year, and Rocket Lab's CEO, Peter Beck, commented on the test during the firm's second quarter earnings call earlier this month.
During the earnings call, Beck discussed the Neutron rocket. He outlined that Rocket Lab has made significant progress in building the rocket's launch infrastructure and added that the firm is on track to launch the rocket's first flight by the end of 2025. The Rocket Lab CEO asserted that his firm is aiming to launch the first flight of its new rocket and build the infrastructure to scale up rocket production and launches.
"We know that from experience that building the first one is hard, but building the system that gets you to launch #10 and 20 and beyond is much harder," said Beck. "Most of the capital of any rocket program goes into building out the infrastructure, and we believe we've got all the critical elements in place now," he added.
The conversation then shifted to the success parameters for the first test flight. Beck was asked by a Bank of America analyst bout his criterion for a successful Neutron test flight. In response, he was candid, commenting that "you're not going to hear some rubbish about just clearing the pad [is] success." For Rocket Lab, a successful launch "will be successfully getting to orbit and making sure the vehicle is ready to scale," he outlined.
His remarks aimed directly at SpaceX, which explicitly stated ahead of the first Starship test flight in April 2023 that the only criterion for success was clearing the pad. SpaceX's Starship is the world's largest rocket in development and is designed to generate more than ten times the thrust of Rocket Lab's Neutron. The 2023 test flight was the first time in human history that a rocket with 33 engines lifted off from Earth as part of SpaceX's ambitious goal of colonizing Mars.
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