Rocket Lab will try to catch falling rocket with helicopter
Rocket Lab may have something a bit different in store this morning for armchair launch enthusiasts who are no longer awed by watching the company pop rockets into space.
The New Zealand-founded firm, which is now headquartered in the United States, plans to use a helicopter to attempt to catch one of its Electron rocket bodies as it parachutes back towards the Pacific Ocean following its latest launch this weekend.
The webcast of the launch and, hopefully, the recovery attempt will be streamed on Rocket Lab’s YouTube channel, which will also be shown on Stuff.
But Rocket Lab warned it expected some video loss during the capture attempt due to the remote location, so that part of the livestream could be very limited.
Rocket Lab has given viewers a good idea of what to expect if the capture attempt goes well, having first practised for it in 2020 by dropping a dummy rocket body from one helicopter and snagging it with another.
The company has previously retrieved the spent first stages of its Electron rockets from the sea and succeeded in reusing some parts on other missions.
But it hopes that if it can snag them before they hit sea, they will be in better condition and it will be able to reuse more components.
Rocket Lab has been waiting for very good weather to maximise its chances of a successful catch.
The launch window for the 25th commercial mission from its base on the Māhia Peninsula, near Gisborne, opens at 10.35am today, (NZ time) and will close at 12.40pm should it need to delay the launch.
Its Electron rocket will attempt to put 34 small satellites into orbit for a variety customers, which would hike the total number of satellites it has launched to 146.
Next month, Rocket Lab will attempt to put a satellite the size of a microwave oven into orbit around the Moon for Nasa, to help pave the way for future lunar missions. Most ambitously, it is planning the first private interplanetary space mission in 2023, to Venus in a long-shot search for signs of life.
Rocket Lab shares have been caught up in the general downdraught affecting technology stocks in the United States and closed at US$7.41 yesterday morning, (NZ time), valuing the company at US$3.5b (NZ$5.4b).
That is down from their August listing price of US$10 and their year high of US$21.34.
The launch window for the 25th commercial mission from its base on the Ma¯hia Peninsula opens at 10.35am today.