---
id: "entity-product-electron"
type: "entity"
entityType: "product"
canonicalName: "Electron"
aliases: ["Electron rocket"]
canonical_url: "rocketlabcorp.com (Launch – Electron)"
source_timestamps: ["§ Fueling Growth"]
tags: ["launch-vehicle", "small-lift"]
related: ["entity-product-rutherford", "concept-dedicated-small-launch", "claim-scarcity-advantage"]
sources: ["tail2"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail2"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-tail-119-rocket-lab-founder"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/the-founder-of-rocket-lab-on-competing-with-billionaires-to-lead-in-space"
sourceTitle: "The Founder of Rocket Lab on Competing with Billionaires to Lead in Space"
---
# Electron

[[entity-org-rocket-lab|Rocket Lab]]'s flagship **small-lift orbital launch vehicle** and the archetype of [[concept-dedicated-small-launch]]. Standing **55 feet tall**, it lifts up to **300 kilograms** to orbit. It is the **world's first carbon-composite orbital rocket** and is powered by the 3D-printed [[entity-product-rutherford|Rutherford engine]]. Developed for **less than $100 million** — the central evidence for [[claim-scarcity-advantage]] — it completed its **75th launch in November 2025**.

**Enrichment context:** Two-stage, carbon-composite; launch price originally ~$5–7.5M; Bessemer's 2014 memo cited a 100–150 kg design at $4.9M with a ~$1M build cost; NewSpace Index puts development at <$100M and total investment at ~$180M including infrastructure. Designed for high cadence to serve the smallsat market.

**Canonical reference:** rocketlabcorp.com → Launch – Electron.