SpaceX Pioneered Reusable Rockets. Rocket Lab Is Trying to Do It Too. – Barron’s

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Space launch company Rocket Lab USA recently announced it will attempt to recover the first stage of its rocket during its next mission.

Rocket reusability, pioneered by Elon Musks company SpaceX, helps drive down the cost of reaching space. Its an important milestone for the company. Success will boost investor confidence, but watchers should still be wary. Rocket recovery, after all, is difficult as SpaceXs own experience has shown.

Rocket Labs launch vehicle is the Electron rocket which has 19 successful launches under its belt, deploying more than 100 satellites. Its a smaller rocket, standing about 60 feet high with a payload capability of about 300 kilograms, or about 661 pounds. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands more than 200 feet in the air and can carry almost 23,000 pounds to low earth orbit. The Falcon 9 has been launched more than 110 times.

When the first rocket stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 comes back it lands straight up. Rocket Labs Electron will splash down, using a parachute to slow from speeds of greater than 8 times the speed of sound. The complex mission is the next major step toward making Electron the first orbital-class reusable small launch vehicle, enabling rapid-turnaround launches for small satellites, reads the companys news release.

The process doesnt sound easy. The air around Electron heats up to 2,400 C.the nine 3-D printed Rutherford engines on the first stage will bear the brunt of this extreme heating. To withstand the immense temperatures, this Electron features an evolved heat shield designed to protect the engines and direct the force of the plasma away from the rocket. Its the stuff of science fiction.

The company successfully deployed the parachute system in November 2020, validating its approach to recovery. The new mission will test updated systems, including the heat shield.

The launch is slated for May. The Long Beach, Calif.-based company will conduct the launch from its facility in New Zealand and will deploy two Earth observation satellites for BlackSky.

RocketLab and BlackSky arent officially public companies yet, but both are in the process of merging with special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs. Rocket Lab is merging with Vector Acquisition (ticker: VACQ). BlackSky is merging with Osprey Technology Acquisition (SFTW).

Based on shares outstanding when the mergers are completed, Rocket Lab has a pro-forma market capitalization of about $5.4 billion. BlackSky is valued at about $1.5 billion. SpaceX, for comparison, is valued at about $74 billion in private markets.

Barrons recently wrote positively about Rocket Lab. The company is already generating sales, making it one of the best bets for investors looking for high growth, speculative exposure to the new commercial space business. Since the article appeared in mid-March, shares are down about 4%, trailing behind comparable gains of both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index of roughly 5%.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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SpaceX Pioneered Reusable Rockets. Rocket Lab Is Trying to Do It Too. - Barron's