Peter Beck
Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said merging with a SPAC will quickly give the company the capital it needs to accelerate development of its Neutron rocket. Credit: Rocket Lab

WASHINGTON — A growing realization of the need for a medium-class launch vehicle led Rocket Lab to speed up its plans to go public by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

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Jeff Foust writes about space policy, commercial space, and related topics for SpaceNews. He earned a Ph.D. in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree with honors in geophysics and planetary science...