
Rocket Lab announces commercial customer for new Neutron rocket
Tech & Innovation
2 mins to read
Rocket Lab announces commercial customer for new Neutron rocket
Space company's new medium-lift rocket will help US Airforce to experiment with a point-to-point cargo transportation system.
An impression of the Neutron rocket's final form.

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Scoop
13 hours ago
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Motion Strengthens Leadership Team With New Board And Advisory Appointment
Press Release – FTN Motion Jamie France, formerly an advisor to FTN, has joined the companys Board of Directors. France was an early Rocket Lab employee and served as Global Launch Director for the Electron rocket program, leading a team of over 300 engineers and technicians … FTN Motion, makers of the Streetdog electric motorbike, has announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors and a new addition to its Advisory Board, as the company focuses on building a strong, efficient foundation for operations across New Zealand and Australia. The announcement comes as FTN wraps up its first production run of the new Streetdog80 for customers here in Aotearoa. With most bikes nearly out the door, the team is now gearing up to start building in June for its first Australian deliveries. Board Appointments Reinforce Operational Capability Jamie France, formerly an advisor to FTN, has joined the company's Board of Directors. France was an early Rocket Lab employee and served as Global Launch Director for the Electron rocket program, leading a team of over 300 engineers and technicians across New Zealand and the U.S. FTN co-founder Luke Sinclair said France brings valuable experience in building operational structure during periods of growth. 'Jamie has helped build complex operations from the ground up,' said Sinclair. 'We're not chasing hyper-scale – we're focused on building a well-run, efficient company that can deliver consistently to customers across New Zealand and Australia. Jamie understands how to get that right.' Also joining the Board is Jenny Cresswell, the former Head of Strategy and Chief Financial Officer at Hyundai Motors New Zealand. Cresswell's commercial and financial leadership adds depth to FTN's governance as the company works to refine its operations and long-term planning. Advisory Board Welcomes New Voice in Urban Mobility FTN's Advisory Board has also welcomed Mariko Mura Davidson, a product leader with 15 years of experience at the intersection of transport innovation and go-to-market strategy. She currently holds a senior role at Wombi, a U.S.-based e-bike subscription company, and has previously led product initiatives at Ford Motor Company and Microsoft, where she focused on launching technologies that improve urban mobility and reduce environmental impact. Mariko's go-to-market expertise is exactly what we need as we begin selling in Australia,' said Sinclair. 'She brings a sharp understanding of how to position and scale innovative products in new markets. Her experience will be instrumental in establishing the Streetdog as a smart, sustainable choice for urban commuters across New Zealand and Australia. Davidson joins existing advisor Roland Krueger, former CEO of Dyson, who has been working with FTN over the past year. With prior leadership roles at BMW and Infiniti, Krueger brings a strong design and product mindset to the table. Based part-time in New Zealand, he had been following FTN's journey before joining as an advisor.

RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Rocket Lab signs $460 million deal with US missile tracking tech company
An Army Tactical Missile System being tested in December 2021, at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Photo: AFP / John Hamilton / US Army The headline of this story has been updated to remove the suggestion that Rocket Lab will build a missile defence system as part of the deal. California-based Rocket Lab says it has done a deal with a company capable of helping build the Golden Dome missile defence system. It has signed up to buy the parent holding company of Arizona firm Geost for $460 million. Geost develops electro-optical and infrared technology used in missile warning and tracking, surveillance and reconnaissance, Rocket Lab said. These were "core capabilities" for the likes of the Pentagon's proposed constellation of low-orbit satellites, as well as for the Dome, the company said on its website . The aim of the Dome is to create a shield that can shoot down all sorts of missiles including nuclear warheads. US President Donald Trump last week put the cost of the Golden Dome at $300 billion, but many analysts say it will cost much more. Critics have said it risks undermining global security by fuelling a new arms race involving space. Sir Peter Beck said the Geost deal positioned Rocket Lab as a "disruptive prime" - meaning major - contractor to US national security. "Rocket Lab was founded to disrupt the traditional space industry and we're doing just that," Beck said on the firm's website. "By bringing these mission critical payloads in-house, Rocket Lab enhances its ability to rapidly deliver integrated spacecraft systems purpose-built for US national security," the website said. The acquisition to be settled later this year would take the company's staff numbers to 2600 in factories and at test and launch sites in New Zealand, California, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Toronto and Arizona. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.


Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Defence Minister Judith Collins endorses Trump's Golden Dome
By Phil Pennington of RNZ US President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile defence project has won endorsement from New Zealand. The vision is of a vast shield of sensors, missiles and even laser beams designed to take out conventional and nuclear missiles. Critics of the proposed system say it may fuel an arms race in space, and China and Russia have condemned it. But Defence Minister Judith Collins told a security summit in Singapore it was justified. "It's a defence mechanism," she said during a panel on cyber, space and undersea challenges. "I don't see it as an attack mechanism. It's a defence mechanism. "And if people did not feel they needed to defend themselves, they wouldn't waste the money on it." The chorus of major defence contractors signalling their readiness to work on the Golden Dome has been growing, joined recently by New Zealand-founded and California-based company Rocket Lab. Rocket Lab used a $460 million acquisition of the parent company of Arizona firm Geost, to state how the deal secured "core capabilities" for achieving Pentagon goals in space, "like the proposed Golden Dome". Prime (major) contractor Lockheed Martin said on its website: "This next generation defence shield will identify incoming projectiles, calculate trajectory and deploy interceptor missiles to destroy them mid-flight, safeguarding the homeland and projecting American Strength [sic]." SpaceX, controversial software innovator Palantir and drone-maker Anduril also feature in media reports and speculation about the Dome. Trump has said it would be operational by the end of his term and over the next decade cost $300 billion, but many analysts doubt the timing, while the Congressional Budget Office has estimated it could cost as much as $1.4 trillion over two decades. Lockheed called it "a Manhattan Project-scale mission". Minister Collins told the Shangri-La Dialogue that taxpayers' money was hard-fought for. "Let me tell you, we are defence ministers, we know how that feels, we have to go in every day and try to get more money. "And we're not going to do it unless there's some reason to do it. So you know, don't be aggressive in space, we won't need Golden Dome or any other sort of dome." Collins told the summit New Zealand's proportion of defence spending on emerging technology would grow, noting that tech made in New Zealand was being used in the Ukraine war. "We are going to be using some of that," she said. Tauranga company Syos makes drones that have been used in Ukraine. 'Everyone wants a piece' China, Russia and North Korea have all condemned Trump's revival of a high-tech form of the Ronald-Reagan era Star Wars missile defence plan, 400 times larger than Israel's Iron Dome. Despite this and critics' fears, defence and high-tech military-linked contractors have begun jockeying for action. "Everyone Wants a Piece of Trump's 'Golden Dome' Defense Plan," a Wall Street Journal headline said. Reuters has reported that Elon Musk's SpaceX - the most prolific satellite launcher ever - was in partnership with two tech firms that had been muscling into the defence industry to become Golden Dome frontrunners. The Times of India asked if the Dome was a shield for the US "or just to make Elon Musk richer?" One of Musk's reported partners is Anduril, a supercharged start-up that has plans for a billion-dollar military drone factory, and the other is New Zealand citizen Peter Thiel's software firm Palantir. The US Army recently tested a Palantir system called Maven for rapid targeting, saying it allowed a 20-person unit to do more than a 2000-strong unit was able to target during the 2003 Iraq war. The track record with the US Army had boosted Palantir, market analysts said. Smart targeting is envisaged as part of Golden Dome, with the Pentagon saying that by 2029 it would deploy smart sensors in space that can distinguish missile threats from clutter. Canada's Globe and Mail reported a range of stocks were benefiting from Trump's talk of the Golden Dome, noting that Palantir was now worth more than Lockheed Martin. The SpaceX link-up with tech firms reported by Reuters, is a challenge to the entrenched defence industry players like Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and RTX (Raytheon), though these "primes" do figure in an Act introduced in February to enable Golden Dome, alongside a Trump executive order. Rocket Lab said in its media release citing the Golden Dome it was "positioning itself as disruptive prime to US national security". The Street financial news site said the Geost deal put the company that launches out of both Mahia and Virginia, "firmly in the national security conversation". America's Defence Intelligence Agency in mid-May profiled the forecast missile threat across six categories, including two hypersonics and two types of nuclear ballistic missiles. The Chatham House thinktank said the Golden Dome might suck resources from regional missile defence and cyber resilience, to go into unproven shield technology. "The plan also has potentially dangerous strategic consequences," it said. "A system that aspires to make the US invulnerable to missile attack would almost certainly be seen by its adversaries as an attempt to undermine the logic of nuclear deterrence. If Washington is perceived to be developing a shield that could one day neutralise a retaliatory nuclear strike, it risks triggering a dangerous global arms race."