"Welcome to Rocket Lab: An End-to-End Space Company"

Welcome to Rocket Lab: An End-to-End Space Company

Presenter: Richard French

Director – Business Development and Strategy, Space Systems, Rocket Lab

Founded in 2006 by Peter Beck, Rocket Lab is a US company with over >$1B raised to date and is now Nasdaq-listed (RKLB). Rocket lab has its HQ in Long Beach, CA and with 9 locations worldwide across 3 countries and 5 states, including 2 launch sites and 3 launch pads. Rocket Lab successfully closed a deSPAC transaction on 08/25/2021, generating $777M of gross proceeds from a $467M PIPE and $310M from the Vector Acquisition Corp funds, representing less than 3% net redemptions of the publicly traded shares. In Q2 2022, Rocket Lab had a revenue of $55.5 million, representing 36% sequential quarter-on-quarter growth and 392% year-on-year growth, with Q2 ending cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash balances of $546.6M, a Q2 2022 ending backlog of $531.4M, and a non-GAAP gross margin of ~22%. Space Systems now accounts for >60% of revenue, diversified across components, satellites, and mission operations.

Rocket Lab is the global leader in dedicated small launch vehicles with the all carbon composite, electric fuel-pumped Electron launch vehicle. Rocket Lab has completed 30 launches sending 150 satellites to orbit with Electron, the first NASA Cat 1 certified small launch vehicle. The Neutron medium lift launch vehicle is in development to serve future constellation deployment, national security, and civil space needs.

The Space Systems Division is now providing end-to-end missions with the Photon family of spacecraft and operating as a spacecraft components as a merchant supplier of reaction wheels, star trackers, solar power, radios, launch separations systems, flight software, ground software, composite structures, batteries. Many component capabilities have come through acquisition including Sinclair Interplanetary in April 2020, Advanced Solutions, Inc. in October 2021, Planetary Systems Corporation in November 2021, and SolAero Technologies, Inc. in December 2021, which are now vertically integrating key space systems component capabilities. Rocket Lab has 3 operational Photon satellites launched and gaining flight heritage: First Light in August 2020, Pathstone in March 2021, and NASA CAPSTONE (lunar) in June 2022. We also have 24 satellites in production: 1x NASA LOXSAT-1 (LEO tech demo), 2x NASA ESCAPADE (Mars) missions; 4xVarda Space Industries (LEO); and 17xGlobalstar Thunder constellation (LEO). We are also performing Mandrake 2 operations for SDA/DARPA, plan to perform MethaneSAT operations for EDF and MBIE/NZSA, and have a privately-funded Venus probe mission in development.

Presenter

Richard French leads business development and strategy for Rocket Lab’s space systems division, providing end-to-end mission services and on-orbit operations with the company’s Photon family of small spacecraft and high-end satellite components including propulsion, reaction wheels, star trackers, avionics, solar arrays, and more.

Richard spent over a decade at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he led development of the Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator program and managed technology partnerships with industry in the Office of Space Technology. He also spent two years on detail to NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. as a Staff Technologist in the Space Technology Mission Directorate, leading development of the Tipping Point and Announcement of Collaborative Opportunity solicitations. Richard’s earlier career includes service as an engineer on various NASA missions, including being awarded the NASA Honors Early Career Public Achievement Medal for his work as a lead mechanical systems engineer on the Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, and helping to land the Curiosity Rover on Mars as a member of the Mars Science Laboratory entry, descent, and landing systems engineering team.

Richard holds a Masters degree in Space Systems Engineering and a Bachelors degree in Aerospace Engineering, both from the University of Michigan.

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