Rocket Lab

[TheWorldNewsOrg]

The pint-sized Electron rocket from Rocket Lab. The U.S.-New Zealand startup successfully completed its first commercial launch in New Zealand on Sunday.

We feel obligated to mention the launch took place on a sheep farm. We feel even more obligated to mention that it symbolizes a potential shift in the commercial space industry.

But first, a few more details about the launch:

• The Electron rocket is 56 ft. tall and can carry a few hundred pounds into space.
• Its first payload was several satellites...one of which was built by high school students in California.
• The cost per launch is $5.7 million (compared to $62 million for SpaceX's Falcon 9).

We think you get the idea: These rockets are much smaller, less expensive, and less powerful than the kind you get from Elon Musk's and Jeff Bezos's space companies.

And that's why this launch is a big deal

Sure, enormous rockets with names like the "Falcon Heavy" and "Big Falcon Rocket" will make your jaw drop. But Rocket Lab and dozens of other startups think there's a solid business case to be made for launching smaller, less expensive spacecraft.

• The thought process: As technology advances, satellites (used for anything from science to telecom to imaging) are shrinking in size.
• If Rocket Lab and its 100+ competitors in the sector can blast those lightweight payloads into space at lower prices (and, this is key, can do so on a regular schedule), there could be customers lining up.

Zoom out: We were going to think of the perfect business analogy for what Rocket Lab and co. are trying to do to the commercial space industry...

...but its founder and CEO Peter Beck beat us to the punch. "We're FedEx," he told the NYT. "We're a little man that delivers a parcel to your door."

+ Impress your Kiwi friends: The mission, called "It's Business Time," is named after a song performed by New Zealand comedy legends Flight of the Conchords.