Rocket Lab, a small satellite launch company, has moved its headquarters to Huntington Beach from Los Angeles.
The new facility, at 14520 Delta Lane adjacent to the Boeing complex, will triple the company’s production rate.
“The Huntington Beach area is well known and has big heritage in the industry,” founder and chief executive Peter Beck said.
“We are building upon the great tradition of Boeing and putting into place plans to encourage the relocation of more high tech and aerospace businesses,” said Fred Wilson, Huntington Beach city manager, in a statement.
The Rocket Lab facility will be used for electronics and engine manufacturing and some offices.
The property is roughly 150,000 square feet, according to Beck.
The company has about 150-200 employees, but only around 10 are based in the Huntington Beach office, Beck said. The company is looking to quadruple that number in a few months. Jobs at the company’s careers page included avionics manufacturing engineer and electronics technician.
Boeing, meanwhile, announced in November plans to move 2,400 jobs away from Huntington Beach by 2020.
Rocket Lab was created in 2006 in Auckland, New Zealand, with the goal of offering frequent launch opportunities for low-Earth orbit. In 2013 the group established its headquarters in Los Angeles.
The company is focusing on its Electron orbital launch program. It has launched more than 80 sounding, or instrument carrying, rockets and was the first private company to reach space from the Southern Hemisphere. Rocket Lab operates its launch site in New Zealand.
The Electron is a small rocket – only 18 meters long – which typically carries small satellites.
“The space industry is growing. Most of it is targeted at more satellites,” Beck said. “The trouble is that in the industry launches are slow and inaccessible. We’re trying to build a strong launch vehicle to carry small satellites.”
Private space company’s, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, also have been established in recent years to push forward affordable space initiatives.
Beck said the goal is to produce one rocket a week in Huntington Beach. He said no other projects are in the works.
“Building a launch vehicle from scratch is usually done by a country not a company,” Beck said.
The company on Tuesday said it has raised $148 million, including a recent Series D financing round, raising its value to unicorn status or $1 billion dollars.
Contact the writer: hmadans@ocregister.com or Twitter: @HannahMadans
