Rocket Lab, the biggest rival of SapceX, founded by Elon Musk, introduced its newly produced rocket called Neutron. Just like Falcon 9, the rocket, which has a vertical landing feature, made a sound with its reusability. In fact, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of the company in question.
Rocket Lab came to the fore with its failed launch attempt earlier this year. The company’s rocket, Electron, was disappointed after the failure despite a successful takeoff. Finally, the company, which has re-emerged on the scene, is preparing to compete with Neutron again with SpaceX. Here are the details…
Neutron will cost less than SpaceX
Explaining that it has produced its most advanced and most powerful rocket to date, Rocket Lab has produced Neutron from a special carbon composite material. In this way, the company was able to increase durability and maintain lightness. Designed to land on the runway, similar to Falcon 9, the launch vehicle will be used for tasks such as carrying satellites into orbit.
Speaking live, Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, called Neutron an “absolute beast”. The rocket aims to carry a payload of up to 15,000 kilograms to Earth orbit in one-way trips. It is expected to be able to carry up to 8,000 kilograms as reusable.
Beck said in an interview with CNBC that he aims to see Neutron on the launch pad by 2024. The CEO, who avoided commenting on the cost of such a launch, underlined that they would still offer competitive prices. To make a comparison, we come across a very interesting picture.
Rocket Lab’s small-scale Electron rocket costs $7 million per launch, Firefly’s medium-sized Alpha rocket costs $15 million, and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 advertises $62 million per launch. However, it is worth remembering that Falcon 9 can put a payload of up to 22,800 kilograms into orbit.
While SpaceX can land a drone in the ocean when needed, Neutron must return to the launch site for all its reusable missions. Making a statement on this subject, Rocket Lab CEO said, “It is nice to land on unmanned aerial vehicles, but we use the lowest cost method.”
Beck, when discussing the material from which Neutron will be made, gave another example from SpaceX, and after beating the stainless steel, the main material used in the Starship rocket, with a mallet, he also hit the carbon composite material used in Neutron, and he turned his eyes to Elon Musk, showing that it was not bent. .
A new engine inspired by Archimedes; Archimedes
Rocket Lab also announced that it has developed a new engine for Neutron, called Archimedes. Peter Beck touted Archimedes’ design as “very simple” and “it has everything you want when you need to build an engine that can be used over and over again. ” he defined.
Seven Archimedean engines on the rocket power Neutron’s first space-going stage, while the eighth moves the upper stage once in orbit. The Archimedes engines, scheduled to fire next year, will be built at Rocket Lab’s facility in New Zealand.
So what are your thoughts on this subject? Do you think Rocket Lab will be able to rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX at the prices it offers? You can share your views with us in the comments section.
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