NZ rocket launch brings quick, cheap space access

Cheaper option: Rocket Lab’s electron rocket carrying only a small payload of about 150 kg lifts off from the Mahia Peninsula. Rocket Lab represents a second dramatic shift in the launch industry toward smaller, cheaper rockets that fly almost every day. — AP

SAN FRANCISCO: Cheap, quick access to space has officially arrived – and in some serious style.

On a late afternoon in New Zealand, Rocket Lab successfully launched its third rocket. Dozens of employees gathered at the company’s headquarters in Auckland clad in Rocket Lab’s black-and-red colours and let out a series of primordial screams as the rocket took off, flew into space and dropped its satellite payload into orbit.