First Kiwi in Space
Mark Pavlyukovskyy and Hendrik Remigereau host TechMates, the NZVC podcast. The guest on this episode is Mark Rocket, CEO of Kea Aerospace, and it went out on 21 May 2025.
Mark Rocket changed his name, co-founded Rocket Lab alongside Peter Beck, and launched the Southern Hemisphere's first private rocket. Now leading Kea Aerospace, he is building stratospheric drones for environmental monitoring, telecommunications, and disaster response, and preparing to fly on Blue Origin's suborbital rocket as New Zealand's first citizen astronaut. He discusses skepticism, co-founder dynamics, and balancing entrepreneurship with wellbeing.
- Launching the Southern Hemisphere's first private rocket.
- Co-founding Rocket Lab and the early challenges.
- Stratospheric drone technology at Kea Aerospace.
- First Kiwi in space with Blue Origin.
Kea Aerospace, Rocket Lab, aerospace, stratospheric drones, Blue Origin, Earth observation