Another private space firm is taking a big leap in becoming a rocket recycler. Rocket Lab has announced its plans to use a helicopter to recover one of its Electron rockets from choppy ocean waters after splashdown as part of its next mission.
The US and New Zealand-based company has previously retrieved its boosters from the ocean, but this will mark the first instance when it will use a helicopter for the operation. Adding the aircraft moves Rocket Lab closer to trying a more ambitious mid-air recovery.
Love at first Insight
“We’re gearing up for the next stage — preparing to use a helicopter to catch a rocket as it descends to Earth from space,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck.
A chopper will be stationed offshore at the company’s New Zealand launch facility, where it will observe the booster’s descent while testing communications and tracking aerial recovery attempts in the future.
The mission, also known as “Love at First Insight,” will take-off during a two-week launch window starting November 11. An Electron rocket will boost two satellites for BlackSky global monitoring firm before returning to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The company will broadcast the event live.
Rocket Lab to provide rockets for NASA missions
Besides, NASA has given a green signal to a new Mars mission led by the University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory called ESCAPADE. The mission will study the magnetosphere of the Red Planet. The space agency has also confirmed that the Rocket Lab will be providing a pair of Photon spacecraft.
The company has already started designing the final mission and will manufacture two interplanetary Photon spacecraft for the ESCAPADE mission. Rocket Lab says its rockets will enable it to deliver Decadal0class scientific instruments to NASA at a low cost. Previously,
Rocket Lab showcased the Rosie robot that builds launch vehicles. Rosie is said to be “absolutely massive” and takes up a whole room to function. It processes the carbon composite components of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket for the next phase of production. The robot allows the company to create a launch vehicle “so much faster” than before.
