Electron is a two-stage, partially reusable orbital launch vehicle developed by Rocket Lab, an American aerospace company with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary.

The first rocket was launched on 25 May 2017,[19] reaching space but not achieving orbit due to a glitch in communication equipment on the ground.

The Electron kick stage is equipped with a single Curie engine that is capable of performing multiple burns, uses an unspecified "green" bipropellant, and is 3D printed.

[30] Rocket Lab has also developed a derivative spacecraft of the kick stage, Photon, which is intended for use on lunar and interplanetary missions.

Manufacturing the carbon composite components of the main flight structure has traditionally required 400 hours, with extensive hand labor in the process.

In late 2019, Rocket Lab brought a new robotic manufacturing capability online to produce all composite parts for an Electron in just 12 hours.

The process can make all the carbon fiber structures as well as handle cutting, drilling, and sanding such that the parts are ready for final assembly.

[36][37] To counteract decreased payload capacity caused by the added mass of recovery hardware, performance improvements to Electrons are expected.

[39] Rocket Lab has not released information on aerodynamic decelerator that would be required to slow down the booster after atmospheric reentry.

One recovered Rutherford engine passed five full-duration hot fire tests and is declared ready to fly again.

[41] Rocket Lab's 40th Electron mission successfully reused a refurbished Rutherford engine from a previous flight.

Flight 6 and 7 ("That's a Funny Looking Cactus" and "Make it Rain") had instruments on the first stage needed to gather data to help with the reflight program.

Flight 8 ("Look Ma No Hands") had Brutus, an instrument that collected data from the first stage to study reentry and was designed to be able to survive splashdown in the ocean.

Throughout the reentry the stage was guided though the atmosphere such that it has the right orientation and angle of attack for the base heat shield to protect the booster from destruction using RCS and onboard computers.

A helicopter carrying a long-boom snagged a drogue line from the parachute at 1,500 m (4,900 ft) demonstrating a successful retrieval.

[63] Customers may choose to encapsulate their spacecraft in payload fairings provided by the company, which can be easily attached to the rocket shortly before launch.

[72] Additionally, the UK Space Agency is giving Highlands and Islands Enterprise the opportunity to develop an Electron launch pad on the A' Mhòine Peninsula in Sutherland, Scotland.

[74] The Electron has flown 59 times since May 2017, with a total of 55 successes and 4 failures, Including 3 suborbital flight from the HASTE program.

[75][76] In August 2019, a mission named "Look Ma, No Hands" successfully delivered four satellites to orbit,[77] and in October 2019, the mission named "As the Crow Flies" successfully launched from Māhia LC-1, deploying a small satellite and its kick stage into a 400 km parking orbit.

[78] In July 2020, the thirteenth Electron rocket launch failed with customer payloads on board, the first failure after the maiden flight.