Posted on 11/24/2020 8:31:28 PM PST by BenLurkin
The company recovered the first stage of its two-stage Electron rocket for the first time on Thursday (Nov. 19), fishing the booster out of the Pacific Ocean a few hours after it had helped launch a 30-satellite mission aptly called "Return to Sender."
The stage survived its trip back from space in great shape, helping to validate Rocket Lab's reusability vision, according to company founder and CEO Peter Beck.
The 58-foot-tall (18 meters) Electron, which gives small satellites dedicated rides to orbit, has been an expendable vehicle since its debut launch in 2017. Last year, however, Beck announced that the company plans to make the first stage reusable, chiefly to boost production and launch rates, although the move will likely lead to significant cost savings as well.
Rocket Lab's recovery strategy is different than that of SpaceX, which routinely reuses the first stages of its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. Electron is too small to make vertical, powered touchdowns like the Falcon boosters do, Beck has said; the Rocket Lab vehicle cannot carry enough fuel to have enough left over for landing. So Electron first stages will come back to Earth under parachute and be plucked out of the sky with a helicopter before they hit the water.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
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