11/6/2023 0 Comments New zealand rocket company“Reusability for small rockets is immensely challenging as they simply don’t have the fuel margins that larger rockets have to enable propulsive landing. By evolving it into a reusable launch vehicle we plan to further increase our already steadily rising launch cadence, offering more launch availability to our customers at a time when space access is severely constrained globally,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “Electron is already an established workhorse rocket that has been delivering frequent and reliable access to orbit for more than five years. Rocket Lab will assess the opportunities for flying a complete pre-flown first stage booster following the launch of the pre-flown Rutherford engine in the third quarter this year. This is expected to take the number of Electron missions suitable for recovery from around 50% to between 60-70% of missions due to fewer weather constraints faced by marine recovery vs mid-air capture, while also reducing costs associated with helicopter operations. As a result, Rocket Lab is moving forward with marine operations as the primary method of recovering Electron for re-flight. Extensive analysis of returned stages shows that Electron withstands an ocean splashdown and engineers expect future complete stages to pass qualification and acceptance testing for re-flight with minimal refurbishment. Rocket Lab has been iteratively developing and testing two recovery methods in parallel marine recovery where Electron’s first stage returns to Earth under a parachute for a soft ocean splashdown and recovery by boat, and mid-air recovery where Electron’s first stage is caught in the air by a specialized helicopter as the stage descends back to Earth under parachute. Re-flying this engine is the latest milestone in an iterative and methodical reusability program that has seen Rocket Lab recover hardware and first stages from six Electron missions to date, with the latest stage recovered on 24 March 2023 following ‘The Beat Goes On’ mission launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. ![]() The engine joins multiple systems that have been re-flown on Electron including helium press systems. ![]() The engine is one of several recovered Rutherford engines that collectively have now been through many successful full duration hot fires to support testing and R&D efforts for recovery. ![]() While the engine is ready for re-flight now, the Electron rockets scheduled for launch in the second quarter are already built with complete Rutherford powerpack assemblies so this pre-flown engine will join the production line to be integrated with an in-progress rocket. With Rocket Lab’s propulsion team now giving the engine the green light for re-flight, it will be launched on an upcoming commercial mission scheduled for lift-off in the third quarter of this year. The 3D printed engine, previously flown on the ‘There and Back Again’ mission launched in May 2022, has undergone extensive qualification and acceptance testing to certify it for re-flight, including multiple full mission duration hot fires where the pre-flown engine performed flawlessly and on par with a new Rutherford engine. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today announced it is taking the next major step in evolving the Electron launch vehicle into a reusable rocket by launching a pre-flown Rutherford engine. LONG BEACH, Calif.-( BUSINESS WIRE)-Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
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