In a matter of days Rocket Lab will be able to carry out one of his most daring plans: capture the first stage of a space rocket in the air using a helicopter. Without further context, this idea sounds crazy, but the company has spent the last few years studying and testing this possibility in order to reuse its rockets and make its proposals economically viable in the medium to long term.
As of today, April 19, a 14-day window has opened for the 26th rocket launch. Electron. The mission was baptized as “Roundtrip” and will put into orbit 34 satellites of different companies, starting from New Zealand. So far, nothing really new.
What’s really special is how Rocket Lab will attempt to recover the aforementioned reusable rocket. Unlike previous cases where he fell directly into the ocean, this time the company will use a specially prepared helicopter and try to capture it in the airavoiding rescue work in the water.
The aircraft in question is Sikorsky S-92, which has already done several trials since 2020 to try and complete the difficult task. Capturing a rocket stage mid-air as it returns from space is a very complex operation that requires extreme precision.
How will Rocket Lab catch a rocket with a helicopter?
The helicopter will take off an hour before the Electron launch and will be in a recovery zone about 150 nautical miles off the coast of New Zealand, according to the company. There will wait for the first stage to separate from the rest of the rocketwhich will happen about two and a half minutes after launch.
As the second stage of the rocket continues its satellite deployment, the first stage will begin its descent at nearly 5,000 miles per hour. Obviously, such a speed makes any attempt to capture impossible and, therefore, parachutes will play a key role; the first will work when the object is at an altitude of about 13 kilometers, and the main one – at 6 kilometers.
This will allow the rocket to make the last stage of descent. only 36 kilometers per hour. This way the helicopter will have the time and safety needed to attempt a hook. And if the procedure is successful, the first stage of the Electron will safely return to the Rocket Lab base for analysis.
“Trying to catch a rocket as it falls back to Earth is not an easy task, it’s like threading a needle. But pushing boundaries with such complex operations is in our DNA. success”. The ultimate goal is to make Electron the first reusable small orbiting satellite launch vehicle and provide our customers with even more launch options,” said Peter Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab.
Different strategies, one goal
Rocket Lab proposes to develop a real method to reduce costs in the future. After all, the goal pursued by reusable rockets is precisely this: so that private space operations are economically sustainable over timeand at the same time reduce the waiting time between one launch and another.
SpaceX is pursuing a similar strategy with the Starship program. While it’s true that super-heavy rockets point to deeper space exploration, Elon Musk’s company has also developed a system to catch them mid-air. We are talking about Mechazilla, his launch and capture tower with an interesting mechanical weapon system.
Obviously, there are huge differences between one method and another, but they point to the same thing: gain in maneuverability and economy.
In the meantime, we’ll have to wait to see if Rocket Lab succeeds in their plan to hijack the Electron rocket with a helicopter. In accordance with Interesting engineeringmaneuver can happen next Friday the 22nd as the earliest date.
Source: Hiper Textual
