Peter Beck is on an interview marathon. I love that he decided to talk to the most passionate space fans that know how to ask great questions, instead of traditional media.
Oh well, the burdens of a CEO at the helm of a publicly traded company. Doing lots of interviews in a short amount of time is called a pr campaign. My guess is that they will soon offer new stock to collect some additional funds and need to hype up the stock. Gobbling up all these space solar companies is expensive. Next question: For what kind of product could RL use these companies? Their rockets don´t have solar panels.
@@scottmanley Yeah, when you said it was silly I agreed. Then I found my self working on it ...... It is silly. Looking forward to the KSP video to come ......
The Neutron rocket design has so many ingenious features, that it's becoming my favorite rocket. An innovative second stage that isn't structural, a fairing that reminds a Bond movie. Composite materials on it structure. No need for a launching tower. Returning to the launch pad to save costs in retrieving. And a great CEO that is very informative.
@@vablo7198 Starship is too colossal and heavy. Many points of failure too, as the extensive heat shield. The cargo hatch design could mean sensitive maneuvering to deploy the satellites at LEO than a standard payload fairing. Also different applications.
One of the precious few agencies or companies not trying to catch up to 2015 but looking forward in the design. I'm very exited for this and would be even if I wasn't a shareholder.
RKLB makes uo about 90% of my investment portfolio, last days have been tough seeing the stock fall down so much but I've been here since SPAC days and I'll still be here in 2040.
I'm impressed at his really down to earth and sensible business considerations. Of course, the goal isn't to build a rocket, it is to get useful stuff to orbit... The engineering is "form follows function". Surprising actually, because I pretty much hate "businessmen". There's no such thing as a generic "businessman"... IMO that's just another way of saying scammer or conman. But running a specific business (eg. a launch provider) can be totally legit and requires particular knowledge and skills.
Engineering school just teaches you how to learn and throws some fundamentals out there. The fundamentals haven't changed, because they are fundamentals, so if youre the type who can teach yourself, you can learn those online, and you already have the first part taken care of. Keeping up with industry, seeing what tools are available to you, learning how to leverage them to meet your needs is a continuous process and is something that the newly graduated and the 30 year veteran engineer both need to do.
Great questions Scott! Did not disappoint! It's an absolute pleasure listening to Peter discuss the development process and some of the challenges he faces. For those that grew up interested in space and rockets before TH-cam took off, we remember politicians and PR reps talking about rockets while giving very little info and often very vague info. It was hard to be interested, and quite frankly hard to really care. Now anyone can watch one of these interviews that Peter did with NFS, Tim and Scott and they'll have a really good understanding of some of the engineering challenges and design decisions straight from the source. Not only that but many young aspiring engineers will listen to this and pursue goals to work on rockets of the future. Another aspect that is often overlooked is just how valuable these videos will be for documenting history. In 100 years from now future generations will study these videos to learn about various aspects of rocket development and I think that's really cool
@@MrAlanCristhian a kiwi is a flightless bird native to New Zealand It is also our National bird. People from New Zealand refer to our self’s as “kiwis”.
I am so excited to see Peter going around the YT community, he has to be one of the most open and kind people I have seen. I love their ideas in design and honestly I am a huge RL fan. Great interview!
Amazing interview - really refreshing to hear the mix of engineering and business strategy decisions that have to be made in opposition to each other. Generally I’ve only noted the engineering compromises that are made in a project, so for Peter to relate the two and explain the interactions is eye opening.
When he talks about iteration, I reckon he's spot on, kinda admitting that it's Rocket Labs achilles heel in a way, they can't play around with the design as much as they might like to which pushes them to make a design that doesn't need iterated on. A really good interview all round and Kudos to Beck for reaching out to the little guys rather than just talking to larger media outlets
@@Markle2k I think most definitely, as a brit I have little need to pay attention to American news outlets and seldom pay much attention to British ones
@@Markle2k The major media corporations can't afford to spend this much time, and that is why they are becoming less relevant by the day. With literally millions of channels, TH-cam creators can laser focus on niches like rocket engineering, and do wondrous things like spending half an hour on how engineering decisions are made. It's ALWAYS been disappointing, hearing the dumbed-down puff pieces that NASA would give to the TV networks. Just the fact that NASA still does stand-ups where they talk in pounds and miles, tells me not to waste my time on them.
@@BrightBlueJim What is wrong with pounds and miles, other than it limits your reach to countries that are bilingual in units? All units are arbitrary and anthropocentric other than Planck units, which are unfeasibly small. All US science is done in SI units these days, except for some niche stuff.
Cool! Much respect to Peter for spending this time with you, Scott, and the other interviews. Great backer to the promo/intro video of the Neutron. Thanks!
Hats off to Peter and his team at Rocket Lab! Love having a space capable southern hemisphere company just next door to us over on the big island (Australia 🙂) Wishing them all the best for the future 👌
It was so interesting to get a glimpse of the business and engineering decisions that led to their unique design. The desire to have a "boring" engine was interesting itself. :)
Rocket Lab team has taken a microscope to ground support expenditures, completely redesigning for a towerless vehicle. Innovative fresh eyes for the industry. Fantastic interview!
Yes. But to be fair, if you listen to Elon Musk, he fully understands this as well. That's why he refers to the launch site equipment as "stage 0", HE knows that this is the biggest and most expensive part of the rocket. The difference is, they are working on different problems, for now. But even so, keep in mind that Starship's purpose is to go to other planets where there will be little to no ground support equipment, and launch from there.
@@BrightBlueJim To be even fairer, when I listen to Musk, it's much harder to understand than to Peter Beck, both because Beck is much more eloquent, and obviously has much better grasp on both technical and business details. It is also clear that unlike SpaceX, which receives billions of dollars from NASA, Rocket Lab is truly private company, relying on investors and revenue for their finance. Hence RL has to be extremely efficient and realistic.
This is brilliant PR. You know, Elon Musk said something in an interview, about how he interviews people for employment. He said that he asks them what a particularly challenging problem was, and then, how they solved it. If they were really involved in the solution, they will know every detail, and will be able to talk about it endlessly. THAT's the sense I got from watching these interviews with Peter Beck. Not something I would have expected from a CEO, but maybe it's something we SHOULD expect, for any business that relies on innovation.
Scott, that was amazing! Thank you very much for getting Peter, it was awesomely interesting to get such tricky details from first hands. You're The best interviewer for such a talk. And of course, thanks Peter for coming, it's heart warming to see such a genuinely sincere person to talk engineering right to the point. Thanks a lot to both of you!
Watching this whole video I just kept thinking how many lessons they learned from watching SpaceX and making different decisions. This is where people don't fully understand the impact that innovation has. It is not that everyone will COPY SpaceX, it is that SpaceX innovations become a jumping off point for new ideas. Once the status quo is abandoned, ideas become exponential in that way.
Starship is the futuristic rocket we all wanted 50 years ago, but never got. Neutron is the rocket we didn't know we wanted, but is actually sick to have now. What an awesome time to be alive where we will see both of these rockets fly.
A Modern Wiseman once said, "The best part is NO part, the best process is no process. It weighs nothing, it costs nothing." Best of Luck Rocket Lab! Thanks Scott! Fly Safe! o7
@@thedarkside13 it’s paraphrased from every process engineering textbook worth the name; if you’re manufacturing for mass production, the production step you don’t have to design is always the favourite.
@@mdjey2 that's a pretty curious example to give. He's no more typical than Beck, i'd say. But what is interesting about these Beck interviews. Many things which were decided in the Starship program which move away from traditional rocket design have gone the opposite direction with Neutron. For example Neutron keeps the ground support infrastructure simple by keeping functionality (in a streamlined form) on the rocket (landing legs for example). Neutron uses a GGC engine operating far from its design limits. Neutron uses carbon fiber and iterates only early in the manufacturing process but freezes things in later due to the toolings needed, and so on. Its great to see how an innovative company like Rocket Labs can show you how very different the solution can be for a new class of rocket.
@@mdjey2 For some reason, many space CEO are cool engineers (RL, SX, ULA …). But one technically-not-ceo is outstanding in the bad way (wink wink NASA)
Scott somehow made this interview about the same rocket with the same guy I have seen from Tim and NASA Space Flight feel new. Thanks for all the fantastic questions and follow ups Scott.
@@Ugly_German_Truths I think, and maybe hope, that it goes beyond that. I know nothing at all about Peter Beck two weeks ago, and thought of Electron kind of how I think about regional jets: hardly at all. Now I think of Rocket Lab as a major player. Doesn't matter what I think, but I'm not the only guy watching.
@@eduardjsx I don't think so. The more high end private innovators the better. In space I feel that we are roughly equivalent to twenties aviation. Lots of new ideas that get built after the fundamentals have been mastered. may we have more !
Fascinating to know the design decisions are driven by their design philosophy and not by taking the safe route, e.g. using RTLS instead of a barge - it makes sense for them because of the carbon fiber. And hats off for an overall design no one thought of before - that suspended 2nd stage is wild, the returnable fairing is wilder.
no, there was definitely that james bond movie where someone designed almost the exact same thing but from stainless steel. granted they were doing it for the hollywood wow factor, but still they had to have put some thought into it since they built the prop.
As Beck said, a rocket is a collection of compromises. And more to the point, paraphrasing, you choose which compromises to make, based on what you're good at. You can tell when innovation is driving an industry, by the variety of solutions available. As a counter-example, look at commercial aviation: there are just two configurations of large jets these days, twin jets under the wings, and twin jets at the rear of the fuselage. And the latter is getting more rare. How can you tell an Airbus from a Boeing? Like, from the shapes of the windshields? That's what a mature industry looks like.
Great to see someone finally ask Peter about photon and capstone, though I enjoyed watching each interview he has given this week, they all contain something new from the interviewers different perspective.
DC-X - delta clipper or delta clipper experimental Cold Gas RCS - cold gas reaction control system Inconel - an alloy of primarily chromium, nickel, iron and other elements to make it extremely strong and corrosion, oxidation and heat resistant. GG - gas generator TCA - thrust chamber assembly GNC - guidance, navigation, control NRHO - near rectilinear halo orbit
This might be one of the best examples of access with a CEO and Engineer for an enthusiast audience. Really appreciate Rocketlabs and Scott putting this together. I'm happy to see a company that's taking a different approach than the other media darlings and having success.
I've been watching the Beck interviews and am learning Kiwi. Took me a while to learn that "mess" is "mass." I had no idea what he was talking about but figured it was bad. 'Water genies' took me four replays to figure out 'autogenous.' Closed caption rendered it as "or a genius". As in, "How are you pressurizing the tanks? Water genies." me: ??? Awesome interview, thanks Scott!
It's going to be harder if you visit New Zealand. There is currently a 'heavy handed' drive to incorporate the local indigenous language into our already colloquial language. Whanau = family, Mahi = work, Niu Tireni or Aotearoa = New Zealand, Kai = food etc
It was an interesting contrast to see NSF, Tim and Scott do this thing - I first saw Tim with his hyper focus on whatever long form topic he is working on, then NSF with the haphazard Twitch style with viewer question and struggling to ignore superchats, and finally we get Scott the penultimate pro just Hulk Smashing the interview with knowledgable questions with prepared followups (cus he fucking knows the answers dog)
The NSF was a bit cringe worthy but Peter Beck just looked even more stylish when surrounded by buffoonery. The Everyday interview was great in every way. This one was like a short black coffee. The essence, just wished it was longer.
The only interview where the host nailed that the capsule will just replace the 'petals'. You can see Scott's brain thinking all the time. He has an amazing 'library' in that vault. 👍🏻
Awesome discussion thank you. Brilliant that a Chief Engineer ismaking time to share with us spectators ... and hi to Jess and Jack working on the project.
Compared to Starship it is like both companies are going in radically opposite routes. Space X with Starship going full on into ground infrastructure and in engine performance so the rocket can be big and heavy and from cheaper material. While Rocket lab with Neutron, as Beck said, is going with fancy materials and engineering with the rocket itself but keeping engine and ground infrastructure as cheap as possible. And both are basically for different customers. Also Starship is meant to re-enter at extreme speeds and you have to have much more hardware, engine power, heat shield and stuff for that. Imho both approaches are viable and have hopefully a great future in front of them... Possibly a rocket the size of starship would be a lot more difficult to pull off with Rocket Lab approach...and more expensive.
Fun fact: One of the Heavy-lift Vehicles from NASA's SPS study has similar payload to Starship (120t), yet only 4000t mass when full. Which is less than simply the fuel mass of Starship (a 20% boost), and even with a 22t mass reserve! Apparently, aluminium construction/winged flyback is a pretty efficient design!
I guess the usecase defines what the rocket should be like. Rlab aimes for a lower rocket but for a very specific audience that doesn't want a very expensive flashy super duper heavy lifter. But much more a rocket that has just enough to deliver what they need. While spacex is creating what they need themselves to achieve their goals, Rlab is just making what fits best for their business plan. It's much more a corporate view of things but not less good
Great job as always! So great of Peter doing these interviews. Would like to understand more about the engineering behind mounting the second stage "in tension".
This rocket really is the "Delta Clipper made easy: Just add a second stage" ... that's actually awesome, you can ditch the fickle hydrogen, don't need to look for aerospike engines or chase every gram of saved weight and every second of ISP. Still, now that there IS an aerospike engine out there... would LOVE to see it anyway.
@@HalNordmann hum... Methane higher density should more than make for it. A "third stage" using small ion/plasma propulsion on payload would be better.
@@HalNordmann Hydrogen in a linerless carbon composite tank can be quite problematic. I think the next logical upgrade is a smaller staged combustion cycle methalox engine on the second stage. Up the specific impulse and drop the dry mass. (Fuel rich staged combustion might be relatively low hanging fruit. And reuse considerations aren't important on the second stage.)
@@espenha AFAIK, hydrogen's specific impulse beats the increased tank size, even if you have to make the tanks out of aluminium instead of composites. To me, methane seems just like a cryogenic better version of kerosene. And why staged combustion? Expander cycle also works with great Isp.
I sold Peter short, very short. He very much impressed me as making some very smart decisions in his interview here. I look forward to seeing his creations fly and wish Peter and RL all the best. So exciting having so many options cropping up, each pushing a facet of design to get an edge. Love it! Basic physics tells us that larger engines should be more efficient, which Peter confirmed again here. Maybe really large combustion chambers at really high temps will emerge and provide stunning ISPs. Anyone doing CCs flooded with microwaves to superheat the propellant? Maybe a way to reduce chamber pressures and still get spectacular ISPs. Just a thought.
I think it's great that Beck is giving interviews to folks like Scott Manley and Tim Dodd... and a very smart thing to do. If you want to get your message out there, this is how to do it.
I love the way Peter says, "...you know..." - as if I'm a rocket surgeon. I'm not. So it's good he goes on to explain what he thinks is obvious. It's classic Kiwi self-deprecation; like anyone who had a chance to design and build a rocket would build it this way - you know - "because it's so bloody expensive, and we have bugger-all money, but lots of materials tech and money-saving ideas". It was a Kiwi farmer, Bill Hamilton, who invented the jetboat. Not because he was rich, but because he had no alternative.
I wonder if the era of reusable vehicles might make sense to use launch trajectories over land. A downrange pad on land would be very helpful. Neutron pad in Western Australia, landing pad somewhere in Northern Territory. Fly it back to the launch pad. If the Aussies were to let a Kiwi in to launch rockets...
It would cause too much domestic trouble. We don't want a bunch of angry sheep wives ringing us up and complaining about their engineer husbands playing around in our paddocks while their over here.
What fabulous times we live in! SpaceX, Astra and, of course, Peter Beck's Rocket Lab. The Neutron does promise to be a very efficient and capable vehicle (if they can get the booster stage back in one piece AND the economics of fly back to the launch site work out. I really appreciated the time Scott Manley devoted to drawing out more information about the Photon / Capstone program. Kudos to Mr Beck for being so forthcoming and accessible (not to mention humble--a rare commodity in his circles, it must be said).
"Designing a Rocket is a Giant Engineering Compromise" - loved that quote. Applies to pretty much all Engineering, but Rockets must be at the cutting edge vs software etc. Great intrusive/insightful questions Scott.
Awesome interview Scott Manley! I'm glad you asked about that Moon mission at the end because I was not aware of that. And thanks to Peter Beck for doing this!!
It's really hard not to like Peter Beck. Really, all of the space CEO's have been quite forthcoming with public engagement lately and i think that deserves some recognition. It's hard to build rockets, but its traditionally even harder to engage the public when dealing with topics as complicated as this. Thanks for the great interview, there was information useful for all levels of knowledge here, "hats off" to you Scott! You did a great job letting him talk and guiding to topics!
The only major criticism I have is that there seems to be little room in the basic design for iteration. Having said that, one of the reasons I love the space community is that y’all act in good faith. It’s great that even the biggest critics are rooting for this.
Fascinating! Thank you, both Peter & Scott. You can feel that both of them are talking about something they love and for me it was a glimpse into the next stage of space exploration. Finesse instead of "point & squirt". Also, what accents? I'm from Devon, UK and i find the way these people talk is just like the way i do but with a slight twang. It feels like I'm in the middle of them both. What a wicked interview Scott!
Great interview Scott & props to Peter for hitting all space geek media channels. I would love to get all these "New" rocket CEO's in a room and see the ideas fly. And what is really telling is that they all seem to be on a mission that relies on "best idea wins" mentality.
Nice, i just watched your previous interview yesterday again with Peter Beck and i was wondering if you're gonna make another interview. This is awesome, Scott!
I love how you could see Peter's eyes light up when he was asked about something other than neutron.😂 no matter how much you love a project it can certainly be nice to talk about something else every now and then.
THIS is how you can tell the difference between someone is passionate about their work, and someone who just wants to win. Which to me makes him a winner.
25:11 If they went from a 4-part faring to 3, the comments might shift from James Bond to the worms from Dune ;-) This is an excellent interview! Thanks to both of you for putting this on for all of us!
Peter Beck obviously has it all together. I like Scott's interviews because he has the knowledge and intelligence to ask pertinent questions. I can tell that Peter has respect for Scott too.
Neutron has the design philosophy of old Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites. Very clever, synergistic design solutions. Solutions that make you go "Ah, that's so neat, I wish I would've thought of that!".
I'm so thankful to Mr. Beck for doing all these interviews. I had no idea that they were even developing a new launch vehicle, now... after watching these 3 interviews, I'm just as excited about Neutron development as I've been about starship. Let's all hope that they will be willing to share publicly like SpaceX has done
Its truly astonishing how much one can learn and truly understand complex subjects merely from self teaching methods. may that be TH-cam, Books or even hands on experimentation, this type of platform really helps develop curious minds of all ages to dare and try. I myself never could have imagined i would be walking around daily listening to Audible about Astrophysics book by Brian Green or a book on quantum physics by Sean Carroll or sitting here listening to a video about new developments in the Rocketry industry. Being "self Taught" really a lot of these youtube channels just act as the Teachers that we find it easiest and most enjoyable to actually learn from and those people are able to
On marine assets, from speaking with people I know who own boats, they have a saying: The two happiest moments are when you buy the boat, and when you sell the boat.
It made me chuckle when he called the gas generator "gg" hahaha, I was like "gg exhaust so clutch" :-D - great interview, as always when either Scott or Peter are involved haha! They both really know their subject!
Having watched a lot of SpaceX launches I note that the F9 MECO happens at roughly 80 km, then the 2nd stage gets to 100 km in under a minute usually & drops the fairings. Neutron is going to have to get the whole load to 100 km all in the first stage. I’m guessing they’ll have to go more for altitude than horizontal velocity, coast a bit after MECO to 100 km, then let that little beast of a 2nd stage provide more of the orbital velocity than the F9 does. Should be interesting to watch. I hope they stream video back like SpaceX does.
Peter Beck is on an interview marathon. I love that he decided to talk to the most passionate space fans that know how to ask great questions, instead of traditional media.
Someones got to inspire the next generation of aerospace workers!
I wasn’t really sure at first if I had already heard this interview or not…
Oh well, the burdens of a CEO at the helm of a publicly traded company. Doing lots of interviews in a short amount of time is called a pr campaign. My guess is that they will soon offer new stock to collect some additional funds and need to hype up the stock. Gobbling up all these space solar companies is expensive.
Next question: For what kind of product could RL use these companies? Their rockets don´t have solar panels.
@@OrenTirosh you did if you watch everyday astronaut😂
That’s because the majority of his retail investors are fans of these guys.
Respect to Peter for engaging with the public. In the right way
First NASASpaceflight, then Tim Dodd and now Scott Manley, he answered so many interesting questions
Are you saying that calling people morons and pedophiles on Twitter ISN'T the way to engage with your audience??
who are you talking about?
i hear if you write him on twitter he's going to sell a lot of his company stocks
yes but a shame his audio was poor
I imagine that right now, Scott is in KSP trying to get 4 way fairings working as control surfaces and air brakes.
Guess what my plans for tonight are….
@@scottmanley Waiting on that video as well..... Great interview, BTW. More please 🙂
@@scottmanley Yeah, when you said it was silly I agreed. Then I found my self working on it ...... It is silly. Looking forward to the KSP video to come ......
The wobble. I can hear it here in Europe...
So, Scott... did you work it out? (Posted at 1345 GMT on December 22nd)
The Neutron rocket design has so many ingenious features, that it's becoming my favorite rocket. An innovative second stage that isn't structural, a fairing that reminds a Bond movie. Composite materials on it structure. No need for a launching tower. Returning to the launch pad to save costs in retrieving. And a great CEO that is very informative.
@@vablo7198 Starship is too colossal and heavy. Many points of failure too, as the extensive heat shield. The cargo hatch design could mean sensitive maneuvering to deploy the satellites at LEO than a standard payload fairing. Also different applications.
The design where the second stage is held inside the first stage is really neat.
@@JohnVanderbeck yes. very clever design. Not requiring a massive launch tower and stacking the rocket is also a great feature for rapid reusability.
It's probably my second favorite rocket right now, after new shepa....kidding kidding guys.
@@bacon222 thanks. Already update it.
One of the precious few agencies or companies not trying to catch up to 2015 but looking forward in the design. I'm very exited for this and would be even if I wasn't a shareholder.
RKLB makes uo about 90% of my investment portfolio, last days have been tough seeing the stock fall down so much but I've been here since SPAC days and I'll still be here in 2040.
@@deeptoot1453 A good time to buy stock I'd say
@@linseyyoung1772 definitely! Too bad I ran out of money doing so!
@@deeptoot1453 you either aren't investing a whole lot or you are a madman. Diversify that investment
cough*boeing*cough
It's most impressive that Mr. Beck has accomplished so much in engineering without ever actually having a university degree. That's fascinating!
I'm impressed at his really down to earth and sensible business considerations. Of course, the goal isn't to build a rocket, it is to get useful stuff to orbit... The engineering is "form follows function".
Surprising actually, because I pretty much hate "businessmen". There's no such thing as a generic "businessman"... IMO that's just another way of saying scammer or conman. But running a specific business (eg. a launch provider) can be totally legit and requires particular knowledge and skills.
Engineering school just teaches you how to learn and throws some fundamentals out there. The fundamentals haven't changed, because they are fundamentals, so if youre the type who can teach yourself, you can learn those online, and you already have the first part taken care of. Keeping up with industry, seeing what tools are available to you, learning how to leverage them to meet your needs is a continuous process and is something that the newly graduated and the 30 year veteran engineer both need to do.
It's all out there in books and on the internet.
Teachers are just lesson planners; if you know what you need to know, all you need is the resources and dedication.
The wand chooses the wizard harry potter...
Great questions Scott! Did not disappoint! It's an absolute pleasure listening to Peter discuss the development process and some of the challenges he faces. For those that grew up interested in space and rockets before TH-cam took off, we remember politicians and PR reps talking about rockets while giving very little info and often very vague info. It was hard to be interested, and quite frankly hard to really care. Now anyone can watch one of these interviews that Peter did with NFS, Tim and Scott and they'll have a really good understanding of some of the engineering challenges and design decisions straight from the source. Not only that but many young aspiring engineers will listen to this and pursue goals to work on rockets of the future.
Another aspect that is often overlooked is just how valuable these videos will be for documenting history. In 100 years from now future generations will study these videos to learn about various aspects of rocket development and I think that's really cool
“Man, going to the moon is no joke, that’s proper hard”… Spoken like a true Kiwi mate 👍
"I don't have a wide kit" - also spoken like a true Kiwi.
Can someone explain me that kiwi meme? 🤔
@@MrAlanCristhian a kiwi is a flightless bird native to New Zealand It is also our National bird. People from New Zealand refer to our self’s as “kiwis”.
@@mamingakuri2436 Oh, now i see, thanks 😊
Yeah, well, it's not exactly brain surgery, though, is it?
Just kidding.
I am so excited to see Peter going around the YT community, he has to be one of the most open and kind people I have seen. I love their ideas in design and honestly I am a huge RL fan. Great interview!
First NSF, then Tim Dodd, and now Scott Manley? Christmas must have came early this year!
Amazing interview - really refreshing to hear the mix of engineering and business strategy decisions that have to be made in opposition to each other. Generally I’ve only noted the engineering compromises that are made in a project, so for Peter to relate the two and explain the interactions is eye opening.
you have got give props to peter beck for picking the correct news outlets.
When he talks about iteration, I reckon he's spot on, kinda admitting that it's Rocket Labs achilles heel in a way, they can't play around with the design as much as they might like to which pushes them to make a design that doesn't need iterated on.
A really good interview all round and Kudos to Beck for reaching out to the little guys rather than just talking to larger media outlets
I would bet that Peter reaches a larger audience this way than talking to CBS (the only US network that still has a dedicated space reporting team).
@@Markle2k I think most definitely, as a brit I have little need to pay attention to American news outlets and seldom pay much attention to British ones
@@Markle2k The major media corporations can't afford to spend this much time, and that is why they are becoming less relevant by the day. With literally millions of channels, TH-cam creators can laser focus on niches like rocket engineering, and do wondrous things like spending half an hour on how engineering decisions are made. It's ALWAYS been disappointing, hearing the dumbed-down puff pieces that NASA would give to the TV networks. Just the fact that NASA still does stand-ups where they talk in pounds and miles, tells me not to waste my time on them.
@@BrightBlueJim What is wrong with pounds and miles, other than it limits your reach to countries that are bilingual in units? All units are arbitrary and anthropocentric other than Planck units, which are unfeasibly small. All US science is done in SI units these days, except for some niche stuff.
@@Markle2k What is wrong is that it panders to those who are NOT "bilingual in units".
Really nice to see Peter Beck doing so many interviews.
Cool! Much respect to Peter for spending this time with you, Scott, and the other interviews. Great backer to the promo/intro video of the Neutron. Thanks!
Hats off to Peter and his team at Rocket Lab!
Love having a space capable southern hemisphere company just next door to us over on the big island (Australia 🙂)
Wishing them all the best for the future 👌
You mean hats off but not for eating I hope...
NZ always punches far above it's weight.
@@HanSolo__
That's where I was going with it, yep 😁
It was so interesting to get a glimpse of the business and engineering decisions that led to their unique design. The desire to have a "boring" engine was interesting itself. :)
Rocket Lab team has taken a microscope to ground support expenditures, completely redesigning for a towerless vehicle. Innovative fresh eyes for the industry. Fantastic interview!
Yes. But to be fair, if you listen to Elon Musk, he fully understands this as well. That's why he refers to the launch site equipment as "stage 0", HE knows that this is the biggest and most expensive part of the rocket. The difference is, they are working on different problems, for now. But even so, keep in mind that Starship's purpose is to go to other planets where there will be little to no ground support equipment, and launch from there.
@@BrightBlueJim To be even fairer, when I listen to Musk, it's much harder to understand than to Peter Beck, both because Beck is much more eloquent, and obviously has much better grasp on both technical and business details. It is also clear that unlike SpaceX, which receives billions of dollars from NASA, Rocket Lab is truly private company, relying on investors and revenue for their finance. Hence RL has to be extremely efficient and realistic.
Mad respect to Beck for keeping us informed through major TH-cam’s main space/rocket content creators!
This is brilliant PR. You know, Elon Musk said something in an interview, about how he interviews people for employment. He said that he asks them what a particularly challenging problem was, and then, how they solved it. If they were really involved in the solution, they will know every detail, and will be able to talk about it endlessly. THAT's the sense I got from watching these interviews with Peter Beck. Not something I would have expected from a CEO, but maybe it's something we SHOULD expect, for any business that relies on innovation.
Scott, that was amazing! Thank you very much for getting Peter, it was awesomely interesting to get such tricky details from first hands. You're The best interviewer for such a talk. And of course, thanks Peter for coming, it's heart warming to see such a genuinely sincere person to talk engineering right to the point. Thanks a lot to both of you!
Watching this whole video I just kept thinking how many lessons they learned from watching SpaceX and making different decisions. This is where people don't fully understand the impact that innovation has. It is not that everyone will COPY SpaceX, it is that SpaceX innovations become a jumping off point for new ideas. Once the status quo is abandoned, ideas become exponential in that way.
It also is easier finding investments when there's a working concept. Investors hate uncertainties.
Starship is the futuristic rocket we all wanted 50 years ago, but never got. Neutron is the rocket we didn't know we wanted, but is actually sick to have now. What an awesome time to be alive where we will see both of these rockets fly.
Imho the only really futuristic thing about starship is the launch date.
@@actually5004 true, basically just another big metal can pooping out gas to put mass in space
@@datpudding5338 That is indeed what a rocket is. If you're going by that, no rocket has been futuristic since the very first one ever made.
Starship looks vintage but it’s function is futuristic.
@@TheAmericanCatholic Which function is that?
A Modern Wiseman once said,
"The best part is NO part, the best process is no process. It weighs nothing, it costs nothing."
Best of Luck Rocket Lab! Thanks Scott! Fly Safe! o7
This quote is from my homie Elon.
@@thedarkside13 it’s paraphrased from every process engineering textbook worth the name; if you’re manufacturing for mass production, the production step you don’t have to design is always the favourite.
@@randombloke82 It is paraphrased from every snake oil sales pitch - the best product to sell is air, it weighs nothing (almost), it costs nothing.
It nice to see a CEO interview that isn't constantly metastisizing into vague big picture non-answers.
Thats for a reason. A lot of CEOs doesn't actually know what they are doing.(wink wink Musk)
@@mdjey2 that's a pretty curious example to give. He's no more typical than Beck, i'd say. But what is interesting about these Beck interviews. Many things which were decided in the Starship program which move away from traditional rocket design have gone the opposite direction with Neutron. For example Neutron keeps the ground support infrastructure simple by keeping functionality (in a streamlined form) on the rocket (landing legs for example). Neutron uses a GGC engine operating far from its design limits. Neutron uses carbon fiber and iterates only early in the manufacturing process but freezes things in later due to the toolings needed, and so on. Its great to see how an innovative company like Rocket Labs can show you how very different the solution can be for a new class of rocket.
@@mdjey2 Saying wink wink doesn't make you correct mate, just so you know.
@@mdjey2 see everyday astronaut interview with elon streamed on starbase (wink wink)
@@mdjey2 For some reason, many space CEO are cool engineers (RL, SX, ULA …). But one technically-not-ceo is outstanding in the bad way (wink wink NASA)
Scott somehow made this interview about the same rocket with the same guy I have seen from Tim and NASA Space Flight feel new. Thanks for all the fantastic questions and follow ups Scott.
I love your work Scott! Thanks for making us smarter!
Peter has been doing a lot of interviews lately. Loving it.
They probably need more investors to finish the development and this is a cheap way to advertise their current progress.
@@Ugly_German_Truths I think, and maybe hope, that it goes beyond that. I know nothing at all about Peter Beck two weeks ago, and thought of Electron kind of how I think about regional jets: hardly at all. Now I think of Rocket Lab as a major player. Doesn't matter what I think, but I'm not the only guy watching.
Awesome Interview. This is the space content I needed today :) Thanks Scott for asking curious questions and Peter for all the cool things going on.
Props to Peter Beck for all these interviews he's been doing. Neutron looks to be an exciting competitor to the standard set by the falcon 9.
If you enjoy war machines.
I'd say it significantly exceeds that standard.
@@pseudotasuki So we should use Neutron and just scrap Starship, as it significantly exceeds it as well?
@@eduardjsx I don't think so. The more high end private innovators the better. In space I feel that we are roughly equivalent to twenties aviation. Lots of new ideas that get built after the fundamentals have been mastered. may we have more !
@@eduardjsx
You said it......
😀👍
Fascinating to know the design decisions are driven by their design philosophy and not by taking the safe route, e.g. using RTLS instead of a barge - it makes sense for them because of the carbon fiber. And hats off for an overall design no one thought of before - that suspended 2nd stage is wild, the returnable fairing is wilder.
A minor correction: the Delta rocket series had a suspended second stage, going back to the Apollo era.
This is the kind of positive competition needed. Someone with ideas that are different yet as good as or better than Elon's. (Take note BO!)
@@knowledgeisgood9645 Someone that knows how to get to orbit.
no, there was definitely that james bond movie where someone designed almost the exact same thing but from stainless steel. granted they were doing it for the hollywood wow factor, but still they had to have put some thought into it since they built the prop.
As Beck said, a rocket is a collection of compromises. And more to the point, paraphrasing, you choose which compromises to make, based on what you're good at. You can tell when innovation is driving an industry, by the variety of solutions available. As a counter-example, look at commercial aviation: there are just two configurations of large jets these days, twin jets under the wings, and twin jets at the rear of the fuselage. And the latter is getting more rare. How can you tell an Airbus from a Boeing? Like, from the shapes of the windshields? That's what a mature industry looks like.
Great to see someone finally ask Peter about photon and capstone, though I enjoyed watching each interview he has given this week, they all contain something new from the interviewers different perspective.
Amazing, thanks to both for refreshing discussion. It's great to hear 2 nerds complement each other and we, mortals, learn a lot from it.
Peters smile when hearing that iconic intro being played out in front of him was one of the best things I've seen today!
DC-X - delta clipper or delta clipper experimental
Cold Gas RCS - cold gas reaction control system
Inconel - an alloy of primarily chromium, nickel, iron and other elements to make it extremely strong and corrosion, oxidation and heat resistant.
GG - gas generator
TCA - thrust chamber assembly
GNC - guidance, navigation, control
NRHO - near rectilinear halo orbit
This might be one of the best examples of access with a CEO and Engineer for an enthusiast audience. Really appreciate Rocketlabs and Scott putting this together. I'm happy to see a company that's taking a different approach than the other media darlings and having success.
I've been watching the Beck interviews and am learning Kiwi. Took me a while to learn that "mess" is "mass." I had no idea what he was talking about but figured it was bad. 'Water genies' took me four replays to figure out 'autogenous.' Closed caption rendered it as "or a genius". As in, "How are you pressurizing the tanks? Water genies." me: ??? Awesome interview, thanks Scott!
It's going to be harder if you visit New Zealand. There is currently a 'heavy handed' drive to incorporate the local indigenous language into our already colloquial language.
Whanau = family, Mahi = work, Niu Tireni or Aotearoa = New Zealand, Kai = food etc
I just understood: "We're genius" 😆
Thanks for the translation
Yeah, like @lanatsif, I appreciate the text by @Eri Deimos. Thank you.
Yeaten lately? 🤪
It was an interesting contrast to see NSF, Tim and Scott do this thing - I first saw Tim with his hyper focus on whatever long form topic he is working on, then NSF with the haphazard Twitch style with viewer question and struggling to ignore superchats, and finally we get Scott the penultimate pro just Hulk Smashing the interview with knowledgable questions with prepared followups (cus he fucking knows the answers dog)
I enjoyed all three. They had their differences, but our understanding is better for it.
I found the other 2 interviews excellent as well.
@@darrellcherry9172 True!
The NSF was a bit cringe worthy but Peter Beck just looked even more stylish when surrounded by buffoonery. The Everyday interview was great in every way. This one was like a short black coffee. The essence, just wished it was longer.
The only interview where the host nailed that the capsule will just replace the 'petals'.
You can see Scott's brain thinking all the time. He has an amazing 'library' in that vault. 👍🏻
Awesome discussion thank you. Brilliant that a Chief Engineer ismaking time to share with us spectators ... and hi to Jess and Jack working on the project.
Compared to Starship it is like both companies are going in radically opposite routes. Space X with Starship going full on into ground infrastructure and in engine performance so the rocket can be big and heavy and from cheaper material. While Rocket lab with Neutron, as Beck said, is going with fancy materials and engineering with the rocket itself but keeping engine and ground infrastructure as cheap as possible. And both are basically for different customers.
Also Starship is meant to re-enter at extreme speeds and you have to have much more hardware, engine power, heat shield and stuff for that.
Imho both approaches are viable and have hopefully a great future in front of them...
Possibly a rocket the size of starship would be a lot more difficult to pull off with Rocket Lab approach...and more expensive.
Like beck said, rapid iteration with carbon fiber is an awful idea. And even starship was changed from carbon to steel specifically because of that.
Fun fact: One of the Heavy-lift Vehicles from NASA's SPS study has similar payload to Starship (120t), yet only 4000t mass when full. Which is less than simply the fuel mass of Starship (a 20% boost), and even with a 22t mass reserve! Apparently, aluminium construction/winged flyback is a pretty efficient design!
@@HalNordmann Reusable? That is the big difference. Even the Neutron can't be called truely reusable.
Starship used high pressure FFSCC engines even with carbon composite structure.
I guess the usecase defines what the rocket should be like. Rlab aimes for a lower rocket but for a very specific audience that doesn't want a very expensive flashy super duper heavy lifter. But much more a rocket that has just enough to deliver what they need. While spacex is creating what they need themselves to achieve their goals, Rlab is just making what fits best for their business plan. It's much more a corporate view of things but not less good
Great job as always! So great of Peter doing these interviews. Would like to understand more about the engineering behind mounting the second stage "in tension".
It isn't such an innovative solution as everyone makes it out to be - the Delta rocket series uses a hanging second stage since the Apollo era.
This rocket really is the "Delta Clipper made easy: Just add a second stage" ... that's actually awesome, you can ditch the fickle hydrogen, don't need to look for aerospike engines or chase every gram of saved weight and every second of ISP.
Still, now that there IS an aerospike engine out there... would LOVE to see it anyway.
A hydrogen-oxygen second stage would make it even better!
@@HalNordmann hum... Methane higher density should more than make for it.
A "third stage" using small ion/plasma propulsion on payload would be better.
@@HalNordmann Hydrogen in a linerless carbon composite tank can be quite problematic.
I think the next logical upgrade is a smaller staged combustion cycle methalox engine on the second stage. Up the specific impulse and drop the dry mass. (Fuel rich staged combustion might be relatively low hanging fruit. And reuse considerations aren't important on the second stage.)
@@espenha AFAIK, hydrogen's specific impulse beats the increased tank size, even if you have to make the tanks out of aluminium instead of composites. To me, methane seems just like a cryogenic better version of kerosene.
And why staged combustion? Expander cycle also works with great Isp.
@@HalNordmann You're talking about so much redesign that it would basically be a different launch vehicle.
I sold Peter short, very short. He very much impressed me as making some very smart decisions in his interview here.
I look forward to seeing his creations fly and wish Peter and RL all the best. So exciting having so many options cropping up, each pushing a facet of design to get an edge. Love it!
Basic physics tells us that larger engines should be more efficient, which Peter confirmed again here. Maybe really large combustion chambers at really high temps will emerge and provide stunning ISPs. Anyone doing CCs flooded with microwaves to superheat the propellant? Maybe a way to reduce chamber pressures and still get spectacular ISPs. Just a thought.
I think it's great that Beck is giving interviews to folks like Scott Manley and Tim Dodd... and a very smart thing to do. If you want to get your message out there, this is how to do it.
I love the way Peter says, "...you know..." - as if I'm a rocket surgeon.
I'm not. So it's good he goes on to explain what he thinks is obvious.
It's classic Kiwi self-deprecation; like anyone who had a chance to design and build a rocket would build it this way - you know - "because it's so bloody expensive, and we have bugger-all money, but lots of materials tech and money-saving ideas".
It was a Kiwi farmer, Bill Hamilton, who invented the jetboat. Not because he was rich, but because he had no alternative.
Wow, excellent interview, which really provided the best breakdown of what makes the Neutron so revolutionary and groundbreaking.
As a fellow kiwi, its an amazing feeling to see a New Zealander compete with the big brands
I wonder if the era of reusable vehicles might make sense to use launch trajectories over land. A downrange pad on land would be very helpful. Neutron pad in Western Australia, landing pad somewhere in Northern Territory. Fly it back to the launch pad. If the Aussies were to let a Kiwi in to launch rockets...
It would cause too much domestic trouble. We don't want a bunch of angry sheep wives ringing us up and complaining about their engineer husbands playing around in our paddocks while their over here.
@@youtubevanced4900 😆
Only if we get to the point where rockets basically never fail on launch so you don't have to worry about dropping debris over land.
How would it be useful?
@@mdjey2 More payload to orbit without a boost back burn.
Not only is this a great interview on one of my favourite channels... as a bonus, it pairs my two favourite anglophone accents. What a gift
Always pushing the boundaries Rocket Lab. Keep up the great work Peter and team.
What fabulous times we live in! SpaceX, Astra and, of course, Peter Beck's Rocket Lab. The Neutron does promise to be a very efficient and capable vehicle (if they can get the booster stage back in one piece AND the economics of fly back to the launch site work out. I really appreciated the time Scott Manley devoted to drawing out more information about the Photon / Capstone program. Kudos to Mr Beck for being so forthcoming and accessible (not to mention humble--a rare commodity in his circles, it must be said).
"Designing a Rocket is a Giant Engineering Compromise" - loved that quote.
Applies to pretty much all Engineering, but Rockets must be at the cutting edge vs software etc.
Great intrusive/insightful questions Scott.
Awesome interview Scott Manley! I'm glad you asked about that Moon mission at the end because I was not aware of that. And thanks to Peter Beck for doing this!!
The interview we've really been waiting for! Thanks Peter (and Scott) for doing this
It's really hard not to like Peter Beck. Really, all of the space CEO's have been quite forthcoming with public engagement lately and i think that deserves some recognition. It's hard to build rockets, but its traditionally even harder to engage the public when dealing with topics as complicated as this. Thanks for the great interview, there was information useful for all levels of knowledge here, "hats off" to you Scott! You did a great job letting him talk and guiding to topics!
I love how plain speaking Peter is. Clear explanations and able to articulate the trade offs made and why.
The only major criticism I have is that there seems to be little room in the basic design for iteration.
Having said that, one of the reasons I love the space community is that y’all act in good faith. It’s great that even the biggest critics are rooting for this.
I’d been saving this one to watch. What a fantastic interview, a treat for us all!
Fascinating! Thank you, both Peter & Scott. You can feel that both of them are talking about something they love and for me it was a glimpse into the next stage of space exploration.
Finesse instead of "point & squirt".
Also, what accents? I'm from Devon, UK and i find the way these people talk is just like the way i do but with a slight twang. It feels like I'm in the middle of them both.
What a wicked interview Scott!
I already watched the Everyday Astronaut video on this, but it was nice to see how Peter reacted to Scott’s questions
Great interview Scott & props to Peter for hitting all space geek media channels. I would love to get all these "New" rocket CEO's in a room and see the ideas fly. And what is really telling is that they all seem to be on a mission that relies on "best idea wins" mentality.
So much Peter Beck this week, love it.
Nice, i just watched your previous interview yesterday again with Peter Beck and i was wondering if you're gonna make another interview. This is awesome, Scott!
I love how you could see Peter's eyes light up when he was asked about something other than neutron.😂 no matter how much you love a project it can certainly be nice to talk about something else every now and then.
THIS is how you can tell the difference between someone is passionate about their work, and someone who just wants to win. Which to me makes him a winner.
So glad Scott got a chance to interview Peter! Great work!
Well.. in effect... due to ksp.. Scott is probobly the most well known space guy at the moment.
This is amazing. Another interview with Peter
Thank you Scott and Peter! This is a very interesting interview!
Last 4 days of Beck interviews have been HEAVEN
25:11 If they went from a 4-part faring to 3, the comments might shift from James Bond to the worms from Dune ;-)
This is an excellent interview! Thanks to both of you for putting this on for all of us!
Engineer CEOs …. You gotta love em
Thanks for a great interview Scott. In my mind an interview between Peter and Elon would be awesome, with you as moderator.
Peter Beck obviously has it all together. I like Scott's interviews because he has the knowledge and intelligence to ask pertinent questions. I can tell that Peter has respect for Scott too.
Oh hell's yeah! Finally! Man, I love interviews like that!
Neutron has the design philosophy of old Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites. Very clever, synergistic design solutions. Solutions that make you go "Ah, that's so neat, I wish I would've thought of that!".
Brilliant! Thanks for putting this together Scott!
The lighting, and overall quality of your picture is very nice in this episode🐦🐦🐦
Finally! the person I wanted to interview Peter
Thank you, very good interview from both, high quality content.
Awesome to get all these details, thanks Scott and Peter Beck!
Loving the rocket info dumps we're getting this month!
Really awesome! Great questions. Fantastic answers. Well done!
Such a nice design!
I can't wait to see the crew capsule for this beast!! :)
I'm so thankful to Mr. Beck for doing all these interviews. I had no idea that they were even developing a new launch vehicle, now... after watching these 3 interviews, I'm just as excited about Neutron development as I've been about starship. Let's all hope that they will be willing to share publicly like SpaceX has done
Thankyou Mr Manley, great interview. Cheers from The Aussie in Dubai.
This was the best of the beck interviews imo. Was bummed it wasn't like a 3 hour podcast
Its truly astonishing how much one can learn and truly understand complex subjects merely from self teaching methods. may that be TH-cam, Books or even hands on experimentation, this type of platform really helps develop curious minds of all ages to dare and try. I myself never could have imagined i would be walking around daily listening to Audible about Astrophysics book by Brian Green or a book on quantum physics by Sean Carroll or sitting here listening to a video about new developments in the Rocketry industry. Being "self Taught" really a lot of these youtube channels just act as the Teachers that we find it easiest and most enjoyable to actually learn from and those people are able to
Now all that Peter needs is a volcano base which should be easy to come by in New Zealand and ofcourse a white cat.
We have 52 volcanoes in AKLD alone. So RL has plenty of options, one of which (Panmure Basin) is less than 100m from the RL base in Mt Wellington
@@05fingaz What about the white cat?
I am really loving this, seems like they really have been rethinking things again pushing technology forwards from where Falcon 9 sits now.
Very cool interview, thank you Scott. Sound quality is not ideal on Peter’s side unfortunately. Maybe boosting mid frequencies would help a bit.
It was more of a volume variability. Compression.
"This is probably the last rocket I'll ever design" how many people in the world can actually say that
I see another "hat trick" coming up 😆
On marine assets, from speaking with people I know who own boats, they have a saying:
The two happiest moments are when you buy the boat, and when you sell the boat.
2 great minds just nerding out. So awesome 👌🏼
This and Tims video is definitely the ultimate rocket lab interview.
It made me chuckle when he called the gas generator "gg" hahaha, I was like "gg exhaust so clutch" :-D - great interview, as always when either Scott or Peter are involved haha! They both really know their subject!
Fabulous interview.
Wow first we had nasaspaceflight then we had everyday astronaut but then we have Scott Manley what a week
Funny thing is… I think I recorded my version before the others, but had to spend an age editing.
26:03 YES SCOTT. Great questions!
These space youtubers are finally being recognized for the impact on public perception they have. 😆
Thank you very much Scott for the great video, as always!
Amazing insights from Mr. Beck. Always appreciate the openness from him and rocket lab.
Having watched a lot of SpaceX launches I note that the F9 MECO happens at roughly 80 km, then the 2nd stage gets to 100 km in under a minute usually & drops the fairings. Neutron is going to have to get the whole load to 100 km all in the first stage. I’m guessing they’ll have to go more for altitude than horizontal velocity, coast a bit after MECO to 100 km, then let that little beast of a 2nd stage provide more of the orbital velocity than the F9 does. Should be interesting to watch. I hope they stream video back like SpaceX does.
Makes more sense to go vertical for them anyways cause it's less distance back to base for the 1st stage