Private launch company Rocket Lab once again failed to capture one of the first stages of the Electron launch vehicle by helicopter on its way back to Earth.
“Repatriating a rocket from space is a difficult task and catching it flying in a helicopter is as complicated as it sounds,” said Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab. “The chances of success are much lower than the chances of failure because so many factors complexes must fit perfectly “.
The Rocket Lab Electron can carry 300kg in low Earth orbit and has had more than 30 successful launches. But the boat is not reusable because its first stage splashes into the ocean – ruining its engines – or burns on return. Rocket Lab recovered the electronic thrusters and successfully recovered and restored the engine for ground fire tests.
To make the electron reusable, the company hopes to capture electrons floating under a canopy.
This plan requires the use of Sikorsky S-92 helicopter It is capable of carrying 1000kg boosters.
But getting it is another matter.
As the Rocket Lab staff explained during a live video feed (see below) of the mission: “Between the deployment of the main parachute and the time taken by Electron to reach the ocean, pilots have about ten minutes to complete the reservation. The time it takes for our pilots to control the Sikorsky, balance the swing of the hook below as it connects to the helicopter line, precisely hold the electronic parachute line, and then secure the missile below for return flight.
Unfortunately, on this occasion, the brief loss of telemetry from an electron’s first stage during reentry meant that capture was not attempted. And, fair enough, since Sikorsky’s crew have to be so sure they know the missile won’t knock them out of the sky.
Rocket Lab does not consider the mission a failure, managing to recover the booster from the Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand.
“We are proud to have successfully recovered our fifth rocket from the ocean and look forward to another mid-air capture attempt in the future as we work to make the Electron a reusable rocket,” said Beck.
The CEO is more satisfied with the main task of this mission: the launch of a satellite called MATS (Medium Atmospheric Glow / Aerosol and Spectrophotometer) for the Swedish Space Agency.
MATS’s work is to study the waves in the atmosphere and their effect on the Earth’s climate. To do this, the satellite studies the differences in the light emitted by oxygen molecules at an altitude of 100 kilometers.
The satellite took off without incident and now occupies a circular orbit of 585 kilometers, making it the 152nd orbital vehicle successfully launched by Rocket Lab. ®
