Neutron's first launch slips again amid trouble with carbon composites

Beck said Wednesday that Neutron’s development remains “on an ambitious timeline.” In previous statements, Beck has emphasized Rocket Lab’s focus on quality and its unwillingness to launch an “unproven product.”

“Our aim is to make orbit on the first try,” Beck said last year. “You won’t see us using some qualifier about us just clearing the pad, and claiming success and whatnot, and that means that we don’t want to learn something during Neutron’s first flight that could be learned on the ground during the testing phase.”