Neutron: The novelty from Rocket Lab

One of the most promising aerospace transport companies, Rocket Lab unveiled its new rocket.

Released last Friday (03), Rocket Lab presented its next generation of rockets to transport satellites to Earth orbit. Named Neutron, the novelty will be made of an alloy composed by the company itself, abandoning steel “for the most part” of the rocket.

“This isn't a conventional rocket,” said Peter Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab. “The Neutron is what a rocket is supposed to build in 2050. But we're building it today,” he continued during a live YouTube feed before confirming that the debut of the new vehicle will take place in 2024.

Founded in 2006 by Peter Beck and Mark Rocket, Rocket Lab's proposal was to work in the small launcher market. In 2009 they launched their first rocket, the Ātea, a 6 meter long suborbital rocket. Through investors, the company raised $100 million to develop its first rocket, the Electron.

With a carbon fiber frame, 3D printed engines and electric pumps to deliver fuel and oxidizer, the Electron is capable of launching 300 kg payloads into low earth orbit.

According to Rocket Lab, the new Neutron rocket will be about 40 meters high. It will feature seven Archimedes engines, which the company has been developing for a few months. Beck, the company's founder, said the rocket could carry up to 15 tons into Earth orbit.

According to the CEO, Neutron will be the ideal choice to launch medium-sized satellites that will be part of mega constellations. "We want to ensure that we didn't go to all this trouble to make a launch vehicle that wasn't certified for humans to travel," Beck said in an interview with The Verge.

Valued at $6.6 billion, Rocket Lab has become the most successful company after SpaceX. Some prototypes of the new rocket are already being developed and the first tests should take place in early 2022.