Rocket Lab achieved a primary goal in its most recent ‘There and Back Again’ mission, which resulted in the deployment of 34 small satellites into low Earth orbit for a number of customers, such as Aurora Propulsion Technologies, E-Space, Spaceflight Inc., Astrix Astronautics, and Unseenlabs.
The California-based company’s launch occurred around 6:49 p.m. EDT (22:49 GMT) at Launch Complex 1A, on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand. However, the booster ultimately ended up in the Pacific Ocean.
“After the catch the helicopter pilot noticed different load characteristics than we’ve experienced in testing ... at his discretion, the pilot offloaded the [rocket booster] for a successful splashdown where it has been recovered by our [ship] for transport back to our factory,” said Rocket Lab senior communications adviser Murielle Baker during the webcast.
Baker noted that the Electron booster remains in “great condition,” and will be assessed in detail once it returns to the Rocket Lab factory.
“This is a monumental step forward in our program to make electron a reusable launch vehicle,” Baker added.
The vehicle is primarily made of carbon fiber composite and measures 59 feet (18 meters), and approximately 4 feet (1.2 meters) wide. The vehicle uses technology dubbed an “aero thermal decelerator” to slow the booster through its re-entry to Earth.
“I think anybody who’s not developing a reusable launch vehicle at this point in time is developing a dead-end product because it’s just so obvious that this is a fundamental approach that has to be baked in from day one,” said Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck back in November
As of this article’s publication, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the only company to successfully refurbish a recovered booster.