Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck, this time on Planetary Radio Book Club Edition.

Hello again, everyone. I'm Matt Kaplan with more of the human adventure across the solar system and beyond.

Which nations launch the most rockets?

The answer is the U.S., followed by China, followed by New Zealand.

That third place performance is entirely thanks to a company called Rocket Lab.

This amazing organization's birth and success are documented

in a wonderful book by Peter Griffin called The Launch of Rocket Lab. It was our February

selection in the Planetary Society's member book club, and it's why I welcome the company's leader

for the conversation you're about to hear.

Sir Peter, yes, he has been knighted, will tell us about his earliest adventures with rockets,

including his rocket-powered bicycle.

How he and a dedicated team have built and launched more rockets than just about anybody but SpaceX, how Rocket

Lab has become much more than a rocket builder and his dedication to exploration of the solar

system. As always, the video of our live-streamed event is available at planetary.org.

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In addition to the weekly show with host Sarah Al-Med,

you'll catch our monthly space policy edition.

I'm here with the book club every third Friday.

Okay, let's get started with Sir Peter. My first task was just to hold up the book. It's hard to pick up with one arm,

as I told Peter a moment ago. There it is. The launch of Rocket Lab. What a gorgeous book and what a fascinating tale it tells.

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