PLEASE WELCOME TO THE STAGE,
ROCKET LAB CEO PETER BECK , WITH BLOOMBERG'S ASHLEE VANCE. ♪ MODERATOR: HELLO.
THANK YOU, PETER FOR JOINING US. IT'S SORT OF A VICTORY OF SORTS
FOR ME. A FEW YEARS AGO I WROTE A BOOK
ABOUT ELON MOSQUE AND HE DIDN'T TALK TO ME FOR A LONG TIME
AFTER I WROTE THE BOOK. I HAVE JUST WRITTEN A BOOK
ABOUT YOU, AND HERE YOU ARE STILL TALKING TO ME.
THAT WAS TOO NICE. PETER: I LIKE THAT YOU SPENT SO MUCH
TIME WITH ME AND NEVER FIGURED ME OUT. [APPLAUSE] ASHLEY:
I TRIED. MAYBE WE'LL FIGURE YOU OUT
TODAY. WHILE I WAS DOING THIS BOOK, I
RESEARCHED, SPENT FIVE YEARS ON IT HANGING OUT WITH YOU AND A
NUMBER OF SPACE STARTUPS AROUND THE WORLD, I DUG INTO THE
HISTORY OF THE FIELD AS WELL. IF YOU LOOK OVER THE LAST 20
YEARS, THAT HAS BEEN PROBABLY ABOUT 12 LEGITIMATE ROCKET
STARTUPS OF SOME KIND. SPACEX IS LAUNCHING ABOUT EVERY
THREE DAYS. YOU GUYS HAVE LAUNCHED DOZENS
OF ROCKETS, YOU ARE UP TO ABOUT TWICE A WEEK, IF YOU WANT TO.
AFTER THAT, THE NUMBER GOES OF QUICKLY.
SOME PEOPLE HAVE DONE ONE OR TWO AND THEN REALLY AT FITS AND
STARTS. I MEAN, IT'S AMAZING, BECAUSE
THERE ARE VETERANS OF SPACE PROGRAMS AT THESE OTHER
COMPANIES. WHAT IS IT THAT YOU AND SPACE X
SEEM TO HAVE FIGURED OUT THAT THE ENTIRE REST OF THE INDUSTRY
CAN'T SEEM TO GET? PETER: THAT IS A DIFFICULT QUESTION.
IN THE SIMPLEST FORM, ITS EXECUTION.
WE DON'T TEND TO MAKE A BIG FANFARE.
WE ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RADAR AND WE JUST KEEP
LAUNCHING ROCKETS AND EXECUTING. THE GREAT THING ABOUT THE SPACE
INDUSTRY IS ALSO THE CURSE OF THE SPACE INDUSTRY.
THE GREAT THING ABOUT IT IS I CAN SIT ON THE STAGE AND SAY,
ASHLEE I WILL GO TO MARS OR GO TO JUPITER 2030. RANDY WILL GO, YUP, COOL.
NO OTHER INDUSTRY CAN YOU SAY SUCH CRAZY THINGS AND GET
PEOPLE RALLYING BEHIND YOU. THAT IS A GREAT THING ABOUT THE
SPACE INDUSTRY, IT PROMOTES BIG DREAMS AND MID EXECUTION.
THE CHALLENGE WITH IT IS THE SPACE INDUSTRY HAS BEEN PRETTY
HISTORICALLY SHY IN EXECUTION. YOU CAN SAY THOSE THINGS AND
EVERYBODY WILL NOT LAUGH YOU OUT OF THE ROOM, BUT AT THE END
OF THE DAY, THERE IS A BIG GAP BETWEEN THOSE THINGS BEING
SAID, AND EXECUTION. ASHLEE: YOU AND ROCKET LAB AND SPACE
X, YOU CAN SAY EXECUTION, BUT IT IS AMAZING TO WATCH PEOPLE
WHO HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE STILL STRUGGLE.
THE ONE HAND IT IS ROCKET SCIENCE, WE KNOW THAT THIS IS
HARD. ON THE OTHER HAND, ROCKET LAB
WAS A GROUP OF TWENTYSOMETHINGS THAT REALLY HAD NEVER BUILT A
ROCKET BEFORE, YOU DIDN'T GO TO COLLEGE FOR THIS AND YOU WERE
DESIGNING DISHWASHERS AT ONE POINT. PETER:
REMARKABLY SIMILAR, THOUGH. ASHLEE: [LAUGHS]
YOU GUYS HAVE CLEARLY FIGURED SOMETHING OUT THAT GOT IT RIGHT.
IT IS STILL A MYSTERY TO ME. PETER:
I THINK IT IS BUILDING THE RIGHT TEAM, SETTING THE RIGHT
VISION AND BUILDING THE RIGHT BUSINESS AROUND IT, BEING KIND
OF VERY DELIBERATE ABOUT HOW YOU BUILD YOUR COMPANY.
AS WELL AS BUILDING A ROCKET. AT THE END OF THE DAY, I HAVE
GENERALLY FOUND THAT IF YOU SAY TO SOMEBODY, -- WE HAVE A MOTTO
AT ROCKET LAB, DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.
GENERALLY IF YOU SAY THAT YOU WILL DO SOMETHING AND YOU DO
IT, IT BUILDS GOOD TRUST. AND IF YOU CONTINUE TO DO THAT ALL
THE WAY THROUGH, THE NEW BUILDING THE COMPANY. ASHLEE: SINCE I HAVE KNOWN YOU, YOU ARE
AN ENGINEER AT HEART, SURGE OF CASESVERY HANDS-ON, YOU BUILD A
LOT OF -- YOU ARE SURGE OF CASESVERY HANDS-ON, NEW ZEALAND
IS WHERE THE COMPANY WAS STARTED. YOU ARE BUILDING A ROCKET FROM
THE UNITED STATES, IF YOU ARE THE ONLY COMMERCIAL ROCKET
COMPANY THAT I CAN THINK OF THAT IS SPREAD ACROSS TWO
CONTINENTS. YOU ARE THIS SURGE OF CASESVERY HANDS-ON -- YOU ARE THIS VERY
HANDS-ON GUY. I JUST WONDER HOW YOU ARE
EVOLVING NOW THAT YOUR ATTENTION IS GEOGRAPHICALLY
SPLIT. PETER: IT'S A GOOD CHALLENGE.
WE HAVE ACQUIRED FOUR DIFFERENT COMPANIES.
IT'S A HUGE AMOUNT OF WORK. BUT I THINK THAT AS LONG AS THE
THESIS AND THE RULES ARE THERE AND PEOPLE FOLLOW THE RULES,
AND I MEAN THE CULTURE OF THE COMPANY, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY
NEED TO BE THAT GUY THAT SCREWS THE ROCKET ENGINE TO THE BACK
OF THE LAUNCH VEHICLE, PROVIDED THE GUY WHO IS ACTUALLY
SCREWING THE ROCKET ENGINE TO THE BACK OF THE LAUNCH VEHICLE
UNDERSTANDS THE COMPANY THESIS AND ALL THE CULTURAL ASPECTS TO
MAKE SURE IT ACTUALLY WORKS. SO IT IS DEFINITELY CHALLENGING.
I HAVE SPENT MORE TIME ON A PLANE THAN EVER. BUT IT'S FUN.
WE TALK A LOT ABOUT ROCKETS. TWO THIRDS OF OUR BUSINESS IS
BUILDING THE SPACECRAFT. STILL EAGER TO DO SOME REALLY
CLOSE STUFF. -- I STILL GET TO DO SOME
REALLY COOL STUFF. ASHLEE: I THINK ABOUT COMMERCIAL SPACE
RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF ROCKET COMPANIES.
THE COST OF LAUNCHES HAS COME DOWN AND WE ARE LAUNCHING MORE
OFTEN, WE HAVE A MYRIAD MORE SATELLITE COMPANIES PUTTING UP
GIANT CONSTELLATIONS. IT REMINDS ME SO MUCH OF 1996
FROM CONSUMER INTERNET COMPANIES , COMPANIES DELAYING
FIBER, BUILDING DATA CENTERS AND SAYING SOMETHING INCREDIBLE
WAS GOING TO HAPPEN ON THE INTERNET.
I FEEL LIKE SOME THINGS WERE OBVIOUS THAT THERE WOULD BE
BUSINESSES THAT WOULD WORK ON THE INTERNET, WE JUST DIDN'T
KNOW WHERE THIS WOULD GO. IN SPACE, THE FIRST BIG MESSAGE
SO FAR HAS BEEN COMMUNICATION SATELLITES AND IMAGING
SATELLITES. THAT IS THE ENTIRE PREMISE OF
WHAT THIS IS HANGING ONTO A LARGE DEGREE. I AM SO CURIOUS ABOUT, DO YOU SEE THAT AS BEING ENOUGH FOR
THE NEXT 10 OR 15 YEARS? DO YOU THINK SOMETHING HAS TO
COME ALONG? PETER: I THINK ABOUT THIS A LOT
BECAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS THE PROMISE OF THE INDUSTRY AND
MARKET STUDIES THAT PREDICT, DEPENDING ON WHICH MARKET
STUDY, YOU CAN PICK UP BETWEEN $1 TRILLION OR $2 TRILLION, HOW
LARGE THE MARKET WILL BE IN 2030.
BUT SOME OF THE KEY FACTORS FOR ME THAT ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN
EVER, YOU ARE SEEING REAL FUNDAMENTAL USE CASES FROM
REALLY LARGE COMPANIES. OBVIOUSLY, ELI HAS STARLINK AND
THAT IS PROVING ITS WORTH. AMAZON HAS THEIR OWN COMPANY
WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT. WE ARE SEEING APPLE WITH THE
SERVICE VOYAGE INTO SPACE. THERE IS ENOUGH ROOM USE CASES
FROM REAL COMPANIES THAT IT A BIT OBVIOUS NOW THAT IT WILL
FURTHER LIBERATE. ASHLEE: BUT ALL OF THAT STUFF IS REALLY
COMMUNICATIONS AT ITS CORE. FOR NOW, WE WENT FROM 2500
SATELLITES THREE YEARS AGO, TO ABOUT 10,000 TODAY.
WE HAVE BEEN ON THIS SUDDENLY EXPONENTIAL CURVE AFTER IT HAD
BEEN LIKE THIS FOR 50 YEARS. A HUGE CHUNK OF THAT IS
COMMUNICATION SATELLITES. I JUST ALWAYS THINK I COULD SEE
IT IN THE NEAR TERM, BUT DOES THAT STUFF MAKE MONEY?
AND THEN WHAT COMES NEXT? OTHERWISE THE AIR STARTS TO
COME OUT OF THE ROOM PRETTY QUICK. PETER: THAT IS FAIR. IN THE LAST, I WOULD SAY 10
YEARS, YOU HAVE SEEN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT VENTURE
CAPITAL FLOW INTO VARIOUS SPACE BUSINESS MODEL'S AND SOME HAVE
BEEN PRETTY SUCCESSFUL AND OTHERS, NOT SO SUCCESSFUL.
BUT WITH ANY NEW FRONTIER, THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF
THROWING MUD AT THE WALL AND SEEING WHAT STICKS. NOW YOU HAVE AMAZON BUILDING
HUGELY LARGE CONSTELLATION OF SERVICE CUSTOMERS.
YOU CAN LOOSELY CHARACTERISTIC AS COMMS, BUT AMAZON HAS A
PURPOSE, IT'S NOT JUST TO CELL INTERNET TO PEOPLE, IT IMPROVES
THEIR BUSINESS MODEL. SO IN SPACE, PEOPLE OFTEN
DEVELOP COOL STUFF AND TRY TO FIND A MARKET FOR.
THEIR VERSION OF THAT IS HAPPENING WHERE PEOPLE ACTUALLY
HAVE BUSINESS NEEDS AT SCALE THAT DRIVE PUTTING
INFRASTRUCTURE. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS THE SAME.
THE WHOLE "MOVE AWAY FROM ONE OR TWO BIG STATIONARY ASSETS"
IT JUST CHANGES THE GAME. ASHLEE: SOME PEOPLE BEYOND
COMMUNICATIONS TALK ABOUT MANUFACTURING.
YOU JUST DID A REALLY INTERESTING THING WHERE YOU PARTNERED WITH THIS COMPANY, VARDA, WHICH IS MAKING A
PHARMACEUTICAL FACTORY IN ORBIT. IT WENT ON THE SPACEX ROCKET.
THREE COMMERCIAL SPACE COMPANIES, TWO OF WHICH ARE
KARZAI COMPETITORS -- QUASI-COMPETITORS.
THE IDEA THAT YOU CAN MAKE CHEMICALS AND MOLECULES IN
SPACE DIFFERENT FROM EARTH, THERE IS TALK ABOUT MOVING DATA
CENTERS UP INTO ORBIT AND REDUCING POLLUTION ON EARTH,
JUST HAVING THEM BE SOLAR POWERED.
TO DO ANY OF THESE APPLICATIONS JUMP OUT TO YOU AS THE MOST
LIKELY? PETER: I AM NOT SO SURE THAT LAUNCHING
THE DATA CENTERS INTO ORBIT IS BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT THAN KEEPING THEM ON THE GROUND, BUT
, THAT COMPANY, THERE IS PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY.
IF YOU ARE IN A ZERO GRAVITY ENVIRONMENT, CRYSTAL PROTEINS
GROW DIFFERENTLY. THAT IS
UN-CHECKING THAT PRODUCTION PROCESS FROM GRAVITY, IT IS
PRETTY GREAT IN CHANGING. IT HAS ONLY BEEN UNTIL NOW THAT
YOU COULD DO THAT AS A START UP AT ANY LEVEL OF SCALE.
PRIOR TO, EVEN 10 YEARS AGO, YOU JUST WOULDN'T DO THAT.
ASHLEE: $100 MILLION JUST TO TRY. PETER:
YEAH. FOR TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, YOU CAN HAVE A CRACK
AT A REALLY BIG THING. ASHLEE: IF WE COULD JUST PUT UP A SLIDE
WHERE WE POLLED THE AUDIENCE. I FOUND THIS FASCINATING. NOT TRYING TO HAWK MY BOOK BUT
I WROTE A BOOK THAT IS OPPOSITE OF THIS POLL.
TO ME, THE MOST ACTIVITY, THE MOST MONEY IS NOT TOURISM, IT'S
NOT MARS, IT IS IN THE LOW EARTH ORBIT WHERE SATELLITES
ARE INCREASING EXPONENTIALLY. SO I AM JUST CURIOUS, THIS IS
IN OUR LIFETIME TO MAKE THE MOST PROGRESS. PETER:
I THINK YOU SHOULD SEND THAT TO ME, MAYBE I SHOULD GET WORKING
ON THE NEUTRON CAPSULE, BECAUSE CLEARLY I AM MISSING A TRICK.
[LAUGHTER] ASHLEE: BUT YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN
INTERESTED AS FAR AS I KNOW, IN YEMEN SPACE TRAVEL. PETER: NO, THAT IS -- IN YEMEN
HUMAN SPACE TRAVEL? PETER: I ADMIRE ASTRONAUTS.
I HAVE ALL THE KNOWLEDGE BUT NOT THE COURAGE.
TO BE ABLE TO SIT ON ROCKET AND DISLOCATE YOURSELF FROM ALL THE
RISK, IT IS A SPECIAL SUPERPOWER TO BE ABLE TO DO
THAT. ASHLEE: WHERE DO YOU MAKE OF THAT, THAT
THE PUBLIC THINKS TOURISM IS WHERE THIS IS HEADING, AS
OPPOSED TO INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS? PETER:
IT'S A MASTERFUL PIECE OF MARKETING FROM VIRGIN GALACTIC.
[LAUGHTER] MORE SERIOUSLY, MORE PEOPLE
LIKE THE IDEA OF GOING INTO SPACE.
HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE DRAW CARD.
IT IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THING TO WATCH A ROCKET GOING
UP WITH A HUMAN ON BOARD. IT'S ALWAYS IN MAGNITUDE DIFFERENT AND THAT IS KIND OF
THE DRAW. NOT SURPRISING THAT EVERYBODY
WANTS TO HAVE THEIR TRIP. ASHLEE:
HISTORICALLY YOU AND SPACEX HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT. SPACEX MAKES LARGE ROCKETS, YOU
MAKE SMALLER ROCKETS. MOVING FORWARD YOU'RE MAKING
THIS ROCKET CALLED NEUTRON THAT WILL COMPETE DIRECTLY WITH
SPACEX'S FALCON 9. AT THE SAME TIME SPACEX IS
MAKING AN EVEN LARGER ROCKET CALLED STARSHIP.
DEALING WITH ELON AND COMPETING WITH ELON COMES WITH ITS
CHALLENGES. I AM JUST VERY CURIOUS IF YOU
SEE SPACEX MOVING FORWARD NOW AS YOUR MOST DIRECT COMPETITOR
AND HOW YOU KEEP PACE WITH THIS COMPANY THAT SEEMS TO HAVE A
HEAD START. PETER: IN SOME RESPECTS, A LOT OF
PEOPLE WANT TO PLAY THAT CARD. BUT WE ARE ON OUR OWN JOURNEY. AT THE END OF THE DAY,
EVERYBODY FOCUSES ON THE ROCKET LIKE IF IT IS THIS EXCITING TO
READ STICK IN THE SKY. I AM TRYING TO BUILD A
LONG-LASTING AND DURABLE SPACE COMPANY.
SPACE COMPANIES OF THE FUTURE ARE GOING TO HAVE THEIR OWN
ROCKET, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO BUILD THEIR OWN SATELLITE AND
THEY WILL HAVE A SERIES OF APPLICATIONS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE
IN ORBIT. THAT IS THE ENDGAME HERE.
IF YOU HAVE A ROCKET CAN BUILD YOUR OWN SPACECRAFT, THEN YOU
CAN DO THINGS IN ORBIT THAT NOBODY ELSE CAN DO. IN THAT SENSE, SPACEX HAS
FOCUSED ON GOING TO SPACE AND MOVING QUICKLY TO PROVE THAT
THE BUSINESS MODEL WILL BE SUCCESSFUL OR NOT, BUT
ULTIMATELY THERE WILL BE A NUMBER OF THOSE AND THE
COMPANIES THAT CAN GO TO ORBIT AT WILL ARE THE ONES WHO WILL
WIN. I KNOW ASHLEE:
YOU GET ASKED THIS A LOT AND I AM JUST CURIOUS, WE HAVE JUST
SEEN VIRGIN ORBIT GO BUST, YOU BOUGHT A NUMBER OF THEIR PARTS.
HISTORICALLY WE HAVE ONLY HAD ROCKET COMPANIES AND SATELLITE
COMPANIES. YOU HAVE BEEN IN SOFTWARE, YOU
ARE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING BIGGER THAN THAT.
HOW MANY PLAYERS ARE THERE LIKE THAT? PETER:
TODAY OR IN THE FUTURE? ASHLEE: IN THE FUTURE, IF YOU BUY INTO
THIS MASSIVE INCREASE IN SATELLITES TO ALL OF IT. PETER:
HOPEFULLY THERE WILL BE TWO. ASHLEE: DO YOU THINK IT IS A TWO
COMPANY RACE? OR MORE THAN THAT? PETER:
THERE WILL BE MORE THAN THAT. I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE 10.
IT WILL BE RELATIVELY SMALL. THE REALITY IS THAT LAUNCHING A
ROCKET AND BUILDING A ROCKET AND GOING TO ORBIT IS AN
ASSAULT ON PHYSICS. IT IS REALLY DIFFICULT TO DO.
IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER, YOU CAN HAVE BETTER COMPUTING,
BETTER AI, AT THE END OF THE DAY , IT IS 1.1 TO 1.2 TIMES
SAFETY FACTOR OR MERGING ON EVERY SINGLE THING IN THE
VEHICLE. IF YOU LOOK AT A ROCKET ENGINE,
THE COMBUSTION EFFICIENCY OF A ROCKET ENGINE HAS NOT REALLY
CHANGED SINCE 1952. THE ACTUAL COMBUSTION
EFFICIENCY HASN'T CHANGED, WE JUST INCREASED THE PRESSURE.
WE KIND OF MAXED OUT ON THE PHYSICS AND MATERIALS A LONG
TIME AGO, SO MOST OF THE STUFF YOU SEE IS WEEKS AROUND THE
EDGES. OR IN ELON'S SCALE, YOU JUST
BUILD BIGGER AND BIGGER ROCKETS. IT'S FUNDAMENTALLY ALWAYS GOING
TO BE SUPER, SUPER DIFFICULT TO DO. ASHLEE:
WE ARE JUST ABOUT OUT OF TIME. WHAT IS YOUR NEXT LAUNCH, AND
WHEN IS IT, AND WHAT WILL YOU GUYS BE DOING? PETER:
YOU KNOW WHAT, I DON'T KNOW. AND THAT IS THE DEFINITION OF
SUCCESS, THAT I DON'T KNOW. ASHLEE:
YOU ARE RIGHT TO SOME DEGREE. IT USED TO BE THIS ALL OR
NOTHING THING. [LAUGHTER] PETER: WE ARE LAUNCHING EVERY COUPLE
OF WEEKS IN GENERAL, SO PROBABLY THE NEXT CABIN OF
WEEKS THERE WILL BE A LAUNCH VEHICLE. ASHLEE: ASHLEE:
DON'T KNOW IF HE IS TELLING US THE TRUTH THAT HE DOESN'T KNOW
OR IF THIS IS AN INDICATION OF HOW FAR THIS BUSINESS HAS COME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. [APPLAUSE] PETER: THANK YOU.
