The demonstration, which included parachutes and a long cable hanging from a helicopter, sought to control a key milestone for the Long Beach, California-based company as it seeks to reduce space shipping costs, an industry trend that has led to billionaire businessman Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
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After taking off to send 34 satellites into orbit at 10:50 a.m. (2250 GMT) In New Zealand, the four-story Electron booster company based in Long Beach, California, fell back into Earth’s atmosphere and deployed a series of parachutes to slow its speed. At high altitudes above the South Pacific, just off the coast of New Zealand, a helicopter with a long, vertical cable hanging from the bottom was led by two pilots over the amplifier, which had a stretched side catch line as it descended under a parachute at about 22 miles (35 km) per hour. The helicopter cable was tied to the catch line of the amplifier, as seen in the company’s live stream, prompting applause and applause from Rocket Lab engineers at the company’s Long Beach mission control center.
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But the cheers from the engineers turned into a loud sigh as the helicopter pilots were forced to release the rocket from the cable and sink it into the Pacific Ocean after observing “different load characteristics” than those they had experienced during previous tests. a Rocket Lab spokesman later confirmed. A fully successful test would involve transporting the rocket booster back to land or on a barge without touching ocean water. “No big deal,” Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck wrote on Twitter. “The rocket landed safely and the ship is loading it now.” It was not immediately clear if Rocket Lab planned to reuse the amplifier. (Report by Joey Roulette · Edited by Stephen Coates)
