Kiwi space company Rocket Lab hails 10th successful launch

Rocket Lab's reached double-digits, successfully launching its 10th mission on Friday night.

The aptly named 'Running Out of Fingers' mission took off from New Zealand's Māhia Peninsula at 9:18pm.

It put seven spacecraft into orbit, keeping Rocket Lab's launch success rate at 100 percent.

The first stage of the rocket was guided back to Earth, disintegrating on impact at 900km/h.

"Not only is this 10th mission a significant milestone launch for us, but our first guided stage re-entry was a complete success," said Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck. 

"The stage made it through the harsh re-entry environment intact, which is an outstanding result for a first test of our recovery systems. It's a huge testament to the relentless drive and commitment of our team that we've reached 10 flights in just our second year of commercial launches.

"As we close out another year of launches, we set our sights on a busy 2020 that will see us launch Electron from US soil out of Launch Complex 2 for the first time, while continuing to grow the launch cadence out of Launch Complex 1."

The satellites on board the 'Running Out of Fingers' mission were for commercial rideshare customers Alba Orbital and ALE.

The launch produced stunning sights in the skies across the North Island.

Beck says next year they'll try and land the first stage using parachutes, so it can be used again.