Successful Rocket Lab launch and descent of 1st stage
Capitalism in space: Rocket Lab today successfully used its Electron rocket to 30 smallsats into orbit from its launchpad in New Zealand.
They also did their first launch test of their planned method for recovering the first stage for reuse. In their case the first stage will use parachutes to slow its descent, and will then be grabbed by a helicopter to be brought back to land. On this launch they were only testing the parachute portion of this plan, and allowed the stage to land in the water, where they then recovered it.
The leaders in the 2020 launch race:
30 China
20 SpaceX
12 Russia
5 ULA
5 Rocket Lab
The U.S. now leads China 33 to 30 in the national rankings.
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Capitalism in space: Rocket Lab today successfully used its Electron rocket to 30 smallsats into orbit from its launchpad in New Zealand.
They also did their first launch test of their planned method for recovering the first stage for reuse. In their case the first stage will use parachutes to slow its descent, and will then be grabbed by a helicopter to be brought back to land. On this launch they were only testing the parachute portion of this plan, and allowed the stage to land in the water, where they then recovered it.
The leaders in the 2020 launch race:
30 China
20 SpaceX
12 Russia
5 ULA
5 Rocket Lab
The U.S. now leads China 33 to 30 in the national rankings.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Cool stuff.
–> Enjoyed the lovely Ariana Ryan color commentary as well.
“… the first stage will use parachutes to slow its descent, and will then be grabbed by a helicopter to …”
I assume this is outmoded technology compared to how SpaceX recovers its first stages. Meaning if SpaceX open sourced its tech, RocketLab would be able to launch at a lower cost. And maybe both companies benefit in that engineers would be better able to move from company to company, sharing what they know, applying their skills more efficiently.
Steve Richter, the helicopter grab makes sense for objects small enough to be grabbed by a helicopter, the SpaceX 1st stage is too large for that method.
Outmoded is the wrong way to look at it. They covered this when they announced their plan. Falcon 9 is a large, heavy launcher that has plenty of reserve dV and can afford the extra mass of landing legs and fuel for the re-entry and landing burns. Electron has a much tighter dV budget, but is also smaller and lighter, so the parachutes are correspondingly smaller, lighter, and easier to develop. And catching it with a helicopter sounds low-tech, but it means no landing legs are needed, nor do they need a barge and the slow travel time back to a port where it can be lifted off by crane and then transported by truck to a refurbishing facility. I don’t think RocketLab has provided these details, but if the helicopter is delivering the booster right to the refurb site, their turnaround time could possibly be faster than SpaceX manages.
I would like to Rocket lab use the same type of system Space X is using for their fairing recovery.
Steerable parachutes.
The helicopter catch is still a dangerous maneuver.
Would a water landing be that detrimental to a properly prepped rocket?
The Electron first stage is seen in the Pacific Ocean in this image shared by Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck on Twitter. Credit: Rocket Lab via Peter Beck
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/20/rocket-lab-recovers-booster-after-launch-with-30-small-satellites/