Rocket Lab Electron 'It's Business Time' on the pad at LC-1. Source: Kieran Fanning

Rocket Lab has expanded its global footprint with the unveiling of a new production facility that rethinks the way orbital rockets are built. The new 7,500 sq/m (80,700 sq/ft) rocket development and production facility in Auckland, New Zealand, is designed for rapid mass production of the Electron rocket. Adding to Rocket Lab’s existing production facility and headquarters in Huntington Beach, California, the new facility brings Rocket Lab’s manufacturing footprint to more than 4.5 acres and enables the company to build an Electron rocket every week.

Electron launch vehicles undergo final assembly at the new Auckland facility, where all parts go through a streamlined process for testing and integration into the rocket before launch from Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch pad, Launch Complex 1, on the Māhia Peninsula.

All Electron launches, including the upcoming It’s Business Time launch in November, will be commanded from the new Mission Control at the Auckland facility. This Mission Control will serve launches from Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, as well as Rocket Lab’s U.S. launch site, which is currently undergoing final selection. The new production facility will house more than 200 of Rocket Lab’s growing team of 330 people. Rocket Lab is actively recruiting for an additional 180 roles across New Zealand and the U.S. to support monthly launches in 2019, scaling to weekly launches by the end of 2020.