The company’s test was partially successful as it tried to make its boosters reusable.
Launch company Rocket Lab USA Inc filmed a falling rocket from the air by helicopter before launching it into the ocean, and seems to have achieved a partially successful test of the company’s new cost-saving approach.
Monday’s demonstration, which included parachutes and a long cable hanging from a helicopter, aimed to mark a key milestone for the California-based company as it dares to reduce the cost of sending hardware into space, a trend in the industry introduced by the billionaire entrepreneur. Elon SpaceX by Musk.
After taking off to send 34 satellites into orbit at 10:50 a.m. (22:50 GMT) in New Zealand, Electron’s four-story accelerator fell back through the Earth’s atmosphere and deployed a series of parachutes to break speed.
At high altitude above the South Pacific, off the coast of New Zealand, a helicopter hanging a long vertical cable from below was piloted by two pilots over an accelerator that had stretched a grip line on the side as it parachuted. at approximately 35 km / h (22 mph).
The helicopter’s cable is attached to the amplifier’s capture line, as seen in the company’s live broadcast, to applause and applause from Rocket Lab engineers at the company’s mission management center in Long Beach.
But the applause turned into moans when helicopter pilots were forced to release the rocket from the cable and launch it into the Pacific Ocean after noticing “different load characteristics” from what had been tested in previous capture tests. a Rocket Lab spokesman later confirmed.
Amy Thomson, a Florida-based space and science journalist, said the achievement, albeit in part, was important for the future.
“Although something was wrong with the connection and they had to abandon the amplifier, this is still an important stage because it was achieved on their first attempt,” she told Al Jazeera.
A completely successful test would involve transporting the rocket accelerator back to land or barge without it touching the ocean.
“It’s not a big deal,” Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck wrote on Twitter. “The rocket exploded safely and the ship is loading it now.”
It was not immediately clear whether Rocket Lab planned to reuse the booster.
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