1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,639 Speaker 1: So we've got a boost for our rapidly expanding space sector. 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,520 Speaker 1: The number of allowed launchers from New Zealand into space 3 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: is being increased. It's going to rise from a limit 4 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:09,799 Speaker 1: of one hundred to a limit of one thousand. 5 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 2: Now. 6 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: Rocket Lab's vice president of Communications is raw As Morgan 7 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:19,639 Speaker 1: Conaton Morgan, Hello, Hello, what proportion of these do you reckon? 8 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: You will use? 9 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,320 Speaker 2: Oh? I would say right now, rocket Lab is the 10 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 2: only orbital launch provider in New Zealand, So if we're 11 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 2: being greedy, I'd love to take them all. But let's 12 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 2: be candid here. I mean, we really do want to 13 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 2: see New Zealand space industry grow overall. There are another 14 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 2: number of other companies trying to do the same thing, 15 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:40,319 Speaker 2: and we're cheering them on as well. But I think 16 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 2: what's really important is that the government has enabled this 17 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 2: flourishing community, whether it's Rocket Lab or Beyond. And you know, 18 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 2: if you can't, if you've been limited by how many 19 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 2: launchers you can do, then there really is a limit 20 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:54,959 Speaker 2: to the sky as the limit. And now that's kind 21 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 2: of just been lifted for everybody. Yeah. 22 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: The reason I'm asking is because you did twenty one 23 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: last year, so it would have. If you're just looking 24 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: at that, I mean, you're not even touching You're not 25 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: even close to touching the limit, the previous limit of 26 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: one hundred. So I was just assuming that there must 27 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:09,759 Speaker 1: must be other players coming into lifted to a thousand. 28 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 2: Well it was twenty one last year, but it's eighty 29 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,040 Speaker 2: one overall now, so we're getting pretty close to that 30 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 2: hundred limit overall, just rocket Lab and INVA is this. 31 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,400 Speaker 1: This is not an annual limit. This is a forever limit. 32 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 2: Not an annual this is a total limit. 33 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 1: Why do we even have a limit? 34 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 2: Well, I suppose it's about monitoring, you know, the impact 35 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 2: of space launch on the nation, on the environment, kind 36 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 2: of what we can support from a regulatory standpoint. You know, 37 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 2: it does make sense to assess any new industry as 38 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:41,480 Speaker 2: it comes along to see what kind of volumes can 39 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,680 Speaker 2: the system overall support. And back when rocket Lab started launching, 40 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 2: you know, one hundred seemed like a fantasy that maybe 41 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 2: one day, in our wild the streams, we might reach 42 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 2: one hundred, And then here we are, not all that 43 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 2: much longer later, and you know, our team is planning 44 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 2: celebrations for the hundred's launch already. 45 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: Well Okay, now who would you put a permanently be 46 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: doing it for? 47 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 2: Who do we launch for YSH, Well, there's not a 48 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,080 Speaker 2: lot of customers globally. NASA is a significant one, so 49 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 2: we've launched a mission to the Moon for them. We 50 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,520 Speaker 2: relatively recently launched a mission over the Poles to help 51 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 2: track ice smell f over are the Arctic and Antarctic. 52 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 2: So there's a lot of environmental research, a lot of 53 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 2: scientific exploration throughout the Solar system, so that's certainly one market. 54 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 2: We do a lot of commercial constellations, so a lot 55 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 2: of organizations that are doing perhaps Earth's observation syntheta capiture 56 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 2: radar and really that just those are constellations to look 57 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 2: down on Earth and provide all manner of data, whether 58 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,799 Speaker 2: it be on shipping traffic, whether it be intelligence, whether 59 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 2: it be disaster relief. So a lot of commercial constellations, 60 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 2: and then of course we have the national security market 61 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 2: as well, so we do a fair amount of intelligence work. 62 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 2: So it's kind of really really split. 63 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, I imagine it's one of these things that rapidly escalates, 64 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: like you do one, you do two, suddenly you're doing fourteen, 65 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: then twenty one, then eighty blah blah blah. It just 66 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: keeps going up really rapidly. Is that would I be right? 67 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 2: Absolutely? 68 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely? Okay, Now, what's going on with the engines, 69 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: because I see some of the engines are blowing up 70 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: and it's causing some some online chatter. 71 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 2: Oh and during an engine test campaign, the engines are 72 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 2: mean to blow up. That's how you test their limits. 73 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 2: That's how you make sure that they don't do that 74 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 2: thing in flight. It's just PAF the course and part 75 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 2: of designing a new launch vehicle. So yeah, gosh, we 76 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 2: are far from the first company to have, you know, 77 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 2: exploded a launch vehicle engine and testing. We've done it 78 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 2: with all of our previous engines. It's just part of 79 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 2: successfully bolding a rocket that works in flight. 80 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: Well, good stuff and best of luck with everything, Morgan. 81 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 1: Good to talk to you, Morgan Connor and Rocket Lab 82 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: vice president of Communication. For more from Heather dupless Yellen Drive, 83 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: listen live to news Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, 84 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.