On May 3, Beijing Time, The Rocket Lab Of The US Small Satellite Launch Company Successfully Caught The First Stage Of The Rocket Returning To Earth In The Air By Helicopter On Monday However, Due To The Discovery Of "different Load Characteristics", The Pilot Decided To Release It And Finally Splashed It Down In The Sea.
The Rocket Laboratory Uses Helicopters To Capture Rockets
The Rocket Laboratory Uses Helicopters To Capture Rockets
After Nearly Three Years Of Preparation, The Rocket Laboratory Made Its First Attempt To Capture Rockets In The Air By Helicopter On Monday. At 18:35 US Eastern Time On Monday (6:35 Beijing Time On Tuesday), The Rocket Laboratory's Electron Carrier Rocket Was Launched From New Zealand. About Two And A Half Minutes After The Launch, The First And Second Stages Of The "electron" Separated And Returned To Earth, And Successfully Opened The Parachute As Planned. Then, The Helicopter Waiting In The Air Quickly Caught The First Stage Of The "electronic Signal". However, Helicopter Pilots Noticed "different Load Characteristics", Which The Rocket Laboratory Had Not Experienced In Previous Tests.
Murielle Baker, The Communication Representative Of Rocket Laboratory, Said In The Live Broadcast Of The Launch Site: "The Pilot Released The First Stage According To His Own Judgment And Let It Splash Down Successfully In The Sea. It Has Been Recovered By Our Recovery Ship And Transported Back To Our Factory. Although The First Stage Is In Good Condition, We Look Forward To A Detailed Evaluation Of It After It Returns To The Factory. The Rest Of The Launch Has Continued As Planned, And All 34 Satellites Have Been Deployed In The Rocket Laboratory.
At Present, The "electron" Is A Non Recoverable Rocket. The Rocket Lab Hopes To Reduce The Manufacturing Cost Of Building New Rockets For Each Mission By Recycling Rockets. This Goal Is Similar To SpaceX, Which Is Famous For Rocket Recycling And Reuse. The Rocket Lab Also Claims That Recycling And Reusing Its Rockets Can Also Help Speed Up Its Flight Rhythm. Peter Beck, CEO Of Rocket Lab, Said: "bringing A Rocket Back Can Save A Lot Of Time For The Company. You Don't Have To Build A New Rocket From Scratch. Therefore, We Will Obviously See Some Good Cost Cuts, But I Think The Most Important Thing For Us Now Is To Get The Rocket Back To The Production Line."