Auckland-based space company Rocket Lab has reached a deal with a major US aeronautical company, L2 Aerospace.
The deal was announced a year to the day after Rocket Lab successfully launched a rocket from Mercury Island, off the Coromandel Peninsula.
Rocket Lab chief executive Peter Beck says the joint venture will develop a piece of technology for the US market, the details of which are commercially sensitive.
He says L2 Aerospace was attracted by Rocket Lab's ability to handle many aspects of aerospace design.
Mr Beck says the joint venture will increase Rocket Lab's staff from two to at least six highly specialised positions.
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