Rocket Lab Receives Popular Science “Best of What’s New"

Rocket Lab Receives Popular Science “Best of What’s New” Honor

New Zealand – This week, Popular Science Magazine released it’s “Best of What’s New for 2011” Awards, highlighting the top 100 innovative technologies in the world.

Instant Eyes™, a hand held, rocket launched UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) developed by Rocket Lab and L2 Aerospace, received an award in the “Security” category as one of the “World’s Most Innovative Technologies.”

To view the award go to: http://www.popsci.com/bown/2011/product/rocket-lab-instant-eyes

Instant Eyes™ is designed to be used by front line troops, first responders and others that require realtime situational awareness. The rocket technology propels the UAV to approximately 2,500 feet altitude and provides real-time, high-resolution imagery, GPS and meta data within only 20 seconds of launch.

At less than 1 pound, the device has been designed to allow all front line troops to carry and launch the system when under immediate threat. Instant Eyes™ will save lives by allowing soldiers to look around corners or over buildings quickly and easily.

To date, Instant Eyes™ has been successfully flown in New Zealand and will be further demonstrated in U.S.-based military demonstrations over the next few months, before going into commercial production in 2012.

“It has been a rapid development program for the team at Rocket Lab requiring a range of new technologies to be developed, tested and implemented, all within a nine month time frame.” noted Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck. “We have all developed a smart product and L2 Aerospace are getting it into the hands of the people who need it.”

“Getting to this point in product development has been a team effort. Instant Eyes™ is a fantastic product that we are excited to bring to the U.S. DoD and first responder markets,” added L2 Aerospace CEO Gen. (Ret.) Lance Lord. “Instant Eyes™ fills an immediate need for a rapidly developed, lower cost capability, unmatched by other ISR products available today. The recognition from Popular Science is greatly appreciated by the team, but we are all focused on seeing Instant Eyes™ saving lives on the front lines.”

“For 24 years, Popular Science has honored the innovations that surprise and amaze us those that make a positive impact on our world today and challenge our views of what’s possible in the future.” said Mark Jannot, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science. “The Best of What’s New Award is the magazine’s top honor, and the 100 winners chosen from among thousands of entrants represent the highest level of achievement in their fields.”

About Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab is a New Zealand based aerospace company focused on rapid development of innovative high quality technologies to the space and defense industries. In addition to the work on Instant Eyes™ the company is completing projects with a range of other customers including DARPA, ORS and commercial entities in the US and NZ. The company has a growing reputation as a world leading developer of rocket based technologies. For more information about Rocket Lab please visit: www.rocketlab.co.nz

About L2 Aerospace
L2 Aerospace was established in 2010 by USAF General (Ret.) Lance Lord. It is a growing, innovative company providing critical ground, air and space-based products and services to support today’s dynamic aerospace markets. L2 Aerospace is comprised of three complimentary business units focused on delivering innovative Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Flight Systems, Engineering Services and Cyber Solutions at the speed of need. For more information about L2 products and services, visit: www.L2aerospace.com.

About Best of What's New
Each year, the editors of Popular Science review thousands of products in search of the top 100 tech innovations of the year; breakthrough products and technologies that represent a significant leap in their categories. The winners — the Best of What's New — are awarded inclusion in the much-anticipated December issue of Popular Science, the most widely read issue of the year since the debut of Best of What's New in 1987. Best of What’s New awards are presented to 100 new products and technologies in 11 categories: Automotive, Aviation & Space, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets, Green Tech, Home Entertainment, Security, Home Tech, Health and Recreation.

About Popular Science
Founded in 1872, Popular Science is the world’s largest science and technology magazine; with a circulation of 1.3 million and 6.8 million monthly readers. Each month, Popular Science reports on the intersection of science and everyday life, with an eye toward what’s new and why it matters. Popular Science is published by Bonnier Active Media, a subsidiary of Bonnier Corporation.

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