A historic day for Rocket Lab - launching its first fully loaded commercial rocket in space.

Six satellites are now orbiting Earth for paying customers, after a flawless launch yesterday just before 5pm.

CEO Peter Beck told Mike Hosking regular access to space is the new normal, and Rocket Lab is leading the world - all the way from the Mahia Peninsula.

He says that's two orbital missions this year, scaling up to a lot more, they have a licence for a launch every three days.

Beck says they're just getting started.

They could have another mission in space by the end of the year - this one for NASA.

Beck says it's a huge privilege to be flying a mission for such an iconic name in space exploration.

LISTEN ABOVE AS PETER BECK SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING