Rocket Lab snatches rocket out of the sky using a helicopter on its first try
The parachute with a Rocket Lab booster was caught by a helicopter after this photo. It was the first time the company fully tested its recovery method after launching on May 2, 2022 from New Zealand. (Image: Rocket Lab) After multiple days of uncooperative weather thwarted Rocket Lab's launch plans, the company launched a rocket and successfully caught it with a helicopter as it fell to Earth.
The milestone moment was the first end-to-end test of this recovery technique.Recovering rocket boosters and re-flying the hardware can save millions of dollars.
SpaceX has been doing this for years, but the two companies have very different methods for landing their rocket boosters. Electron launched from New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula just before 7 p.m.
ET on the "There and Back Again" mission carrying 34 ride-sharing satellites to orbit.Rocket Lab's plan involved plucking a rocket booster out of the sky by catching it using a helicopter and parachute system.
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