From Sea to space

McDonnell turns 70 next year – but you’d never guess it. Sure, the hair’s a whiter shade of pale and the face speaks of experiences good and bad, but the lively demeanour, sparkling eyes and rapid-fire conversation belong to a much younger soul.

And though he might be 40 years older than most of his colleagues at Auckland’s Rocket Lab, he feels perfectly at home. Retirement is definitely not part of his mindset: “I love it – I bet I could work here until I’m 80!”

McDonnell is a vastly-experienced composite technician and works in the team building components used in Rocket Lab’s three-stage, carbon-fibre Electron rockets. And, he says, it’s not as bizarre a career leap as it might sound. “There’s a whole lot of similarities building race boats and rockets – it all comes down to laying