Mission Possible

About this article

An inside look at how New Zealander Peter Beck founded Rocket Lab to disrupt the global aerospace industry with low-cost commercial satellite launches. The article charts his journey from a childhood tinkerer to leading an orbital launch revolution supported by local ingenuity and Silicon Valley backing.

Key vocabulary

hare-brained scheme noun phrase

An impractical, foolish, or excessively risky plan with little apparent likelihood of success.

moribund adjective

Stagnant, declining, or lacking vitality, energy, or progressive development.

spiralling costs noun phrase

Financial expenditures that increase rapidly, continuously, and uncontrollably.

beneficent blind eye noun phrase

A deliberate and sympathetic overlooking of unauthorised actions to permit constructive innovation.

nominal rent noun phrase

A token payment far below the commercial value, charged primarily to fulfill legal formalities.