The Electron amplifier comes into the field of view of the company’s helicopter.
Rocket laboratory
Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck announced the company’s first attempt Monday to capture its Electron rocket booster using a helicopter after a “phenomenal” launch, telling CNBC that the test “achieved 99%” of the company’s reuse targets. on rockets.
“Yesterday was a demonstration that everything works – everything is feasible. You can successfully control and re-enter [rocket] stage from space, put it under a parachute … and then go and retrieve it by helicopter in the air, “Beck said.
Rocket Lab wants to make its reusable rocket accelerators, like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, but with a very different approach. After launching its Electron rocket from New Zealand on Monday, the company used a helicopter to catch a parachute that slowed the rocket’s accelerator as it returned to Earth.
SpaceX uses the engines of its rocket to slow down during re-entry and deploys wide legs to land on large pads.
While the Rocket Lab helicopter “had a good hook” and began flying while carrying the accelerator, Beck said the helicopter pilot saw that the load from the accelerator was different from previous tests and released the accelerator that crashed into the Pacific Ocean. The accelerator was then removed from the water by the Rocket Lab. Beck said the rocket was in “excellent” condition and that the pilot “made the right call”.
Beck noted that Rocket Lab’s Sikorsky S-92 helicopter is capable of lifting 5,000 kilograms, with the Electron accelerator weighing “just under 1,000 kilograms.” Although the test had “a ton of margin,” Beck said, Rocket Lab used “really conservative estimates” to maximize safety during the catch. The helicopter flies with a crew of three: pilot, co-pilot and observer.
By making its reusable accelerators, Rocket Lab will be able to launch more often, while reducing material costs for each mission.
Beck revealed that the Electron amplifier represents between 70% and 80% of the total price of the vehicle. Reusing it will bring significant savings to the company and reduce the number of boosters it has to produce.
Rocket Lab will then return the Electron accelerator to its factory to disassemble, inspect and begin the upgrade process for the next flight.
While Beck warned that the company would have to “do a bunch of tests” on the accelerator, Rocket Lab will “try to fly with it again” – in what will be its first launch of a reusable rocket.
Beck estimates that about half of Rocket Lab’s missions will use reusable missiles. Night launches when the helicopter is not flying, or launches that require full missile capability, reduce that number. (Rocket Lab loses about 10% of Electron’s payload capacity in its reusable configuration.)
“Reuse is an iterative process. As we saw with SpaceX, the first run period was six months or more, and then look at where they are now: it takes weeks to change, “Beck said.
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