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New Zealand's Rocket Lab has two rockets in orbit: the

Feb. 12, 2017 by Catherine Pope

New Zealand's Rocket Lab has two rockets in orbit: the Lander 1A1 and its first Falcon 9, though they are now more expensive and have no customers yet. The Lander 1 has a payload of about 400 pounds and has a total cruising speed of about 150 mph. The Lander 1A1 is a much more powerful rocket, and can reach a max altitude of about 2,600 feet. The Lander 1C has about 100 pounds and can reach a maximum cruising speed of about 250 mph. The Lander 1A1 also boasts a second payload, and it can reach a maximum cruising speed of about 350 mph.

The New Zealand Herald also reports that the company's rocketry business has grown by about 150 percent in the last year. Its new  rocket, the New Zealand R-4, is a Falcon 9 booster. It has a weight of about 1,700 pounds (about 3,700kg). The New Zealand Herald is also reporting that the company's rocketry business is growing by about 100 percent in the last year. For now, New Zealand is the United States' leading provider of rockets.

In addition to the New Zealand rocket and Lander 1A1s, Rocket Lab has recently bought another Falcon 9 for $1 billion.  New Zealand was one of the first countries to purchase a Falcon 9 from Boeing in 2007, and rocketry company Kamals has been in the space market since the early 1990s. In fact, New Zealand's rocketry business has grown by about 200 percent in the last year. In November, Rocket Lab announced that it was expanding into the United States.

The company is in a good place with its growing workforce, including a team comprised of the former SpaceX employees hired in the first three launches. Rocket Lab is also hiring more engineers as well as technical workers. Rocket Lab is currently hiring a team of engineers from the University of Rhode Island and the University of California, Berkeley, to teach Rocket Lab's rocketry business.

Meanwhile, SpaceX's Falcon 9's launch pad was already in the middle of a major refurbishment, and it was expected that it would be ready to begin use shortly. That's what's going on right now, and Rocket Lab is eager to demonstrate the new rocket, which will be the world's most powerful rocket yet.

In addition to the Falcon 9, the company has bought two more Falcon 9 for $1.5 billion for $6.5 billion.  SpaceX has also bought one