A company called Rocket Lab managed to catch a rocket called Electron, which it sent into space, by helicopter as it fell to the ground. The testing was flawless, but the rocket was not completely undamaged by friction and heat.
Expanding the scope of studies carried out in space and the fact that space tourism has become a reality has also directly affected the work of companies. So much so that no one is allowed to make rockets anymore. can spend years he doesn’t have time. This has seriously increased the importance of rockets that can be used repeatedly. The best work on this was done by SpaceX. But now, to the systems SpaceX uses. a new alternative has been created.
A company called Rocket Lab has been working feverishly for about 3 years. These studies have shown that rockets reusable was based on his opinion. So the company wanted to use a rocket over and over, just like SpaceX did. This desire has come closer to reality with the latest studies. Rocket Lab has launched its mini rocket called Electron. with the help of helicopters managed to catch it in the air.
Catching a rocket from space in mid-air wasn’t as easy as it seemed
Rocket Lab’s impressive work is not as easy as it sounds. Because there is a giant rocket in the middle. Moreover, the speed of this rocket is 8 times higher than the sound before the parachute opens. However, the studies have made it possible to leave all these difficulties behind. There were no problems with the launch and electron rocket landed safely on earth. Although this situation is pleasant, it must be said that not everything is perfect. Because, according to Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck, captured rockets are not 100 percent robust. The average durability is around 50 percent. But even this in terms of time It provides great savings.
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As a matter of fact, a demo was made in 2020 and Electron, being released from a helicopter had been caught. The work done at that time was also successful. So the team will actually know what to expect. knew. Still, it’s easy to guess that catching a rocket launched from the ground into space is much more difficult than catching a rocket dropped from a helicopter in a controlled manner.
Here’s the space mission where a rocket falling from space was caught by helicopter
Note: You can watch the entire space mission from Rocket Lab above. If you want to view the moments when the rocket was captured, you can directly click the time bar of the video. You can bring it to 1:35:30.
You can watch the moments of the capture of the rocket, which was carried out in the past years and released from a helicopter, below.
Source :
https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/2/23032354/rocket-lab-helicopter-catch-electron-reuse