Rocket Laboratory Follows the footsteps of SpaceX By going to some pretty dramatic lengths to recycle its rockets. The launch with facilities in the US and New Zealand on Thursday attempted to retrieve the first phase booster from one of its electron rockets for the first time.
The rocket exploded from New Zealand and launched several small satellites – including A particularly specialized garden genome – Towards orbit Task labeled Return to sender. The first phase was then separated by controlled soft water landings in the Pacific Ocean using parachutes.
The rocket lab confirmed via social media that the live feed of the voyage was lost when the rocket landed at high speed to Earth, but that the parachutes were successfully stopped and the rocket landed in the Pacific.
“The splash down of the first phase of the electron is confirmed! Recovery apps are in progress. We will pick you up soon.” The company wrote on Twitter.
The floating rocket will be recovered by the rescue ship, and soon Rocket Lab has promised us more photos.
Recovering a rocket using parachutes is not a new concept. This is one NASA is not far away. This is not as dramatic as the impetus landing system used by SpaceX, but it is a step towards bigger projects. Extracting the used electron booster from the center In its descent using the helicopter.
“What we are trying to achieve with the electron is an incredibly difficult and complex challenge, but we are ready to further enhance the launch pad and provide more frequent missile opportunities for small satellite operators.” Said Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab In a statement.
Rocket Lab proved Mider captured a fake rocket stage with a helicopter in April.
Plucking the booster from the air prevents water from damaging it from landing and floating in salt water for a period of time.
“The ultimate goal is to get the whole first phase intact, but the success of this mission is really about getting more data, especially in the troke and parachute deployment system,” Beck explained. “Even if the level comes back, we will learn a lot from this test and use it to move forward on the next attempt.”
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