Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — dubbed “Secretary of War” by the Trump administration — visited the aerospace startup Rocket Lab’s offices in Long Beach Friday, as part of a national tour meant to buttress enthusiasm for the nation’s manufacturing and defense sectors.
During his visit, Hegseth toured parts of the company’s engine development complex, a 144,000-square-foot warehouse formerly used as the headquarters of Virgin Orbit.
In an address to about 200 employees, Hegseth said that companies like Rocket Lab are key in “dominating” aerospace, adding that breakthroughs in intel gathering and reconnaissance made possible missions like the U.S.’s recent capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela…