Mission Failed At An Airborne Recovery By Helicopter
Rocket Lab USA has successfully launched its 32nd Electron mission to deploy its 152nd satellite to orbit, a science payload for the Swedish National Space Agency.
The MATS satellite was deployed to its 585km circular orbit by Electron following lift-off at 17:27 UTC.
The “Catch Me If You Can” mission also resulted in a successful ocean splashdown of the Electron rocket’s first stage but failed at an airborne recovery by helicopter. Rocket Lab had planned to attempt a mid-air capture of Electron’s first stage with a helicopter if conditions allowed, however not all requirements were met to ensure a successful capture. Due to a telemetry loss with Electron’s first stage during its atmospheric re-entry, the helicopter was moved out of the capture zone per standard safety procedure. The Electron first stage completed a safe splashdown and Rocket Lab’s recovery vessel is now alongside the stage to bring it onboard and back to Rocket Lab’s production facility for inspection and analysis.
Catch Me If You Can was Rocket Lab’s ninth mission of the year, adding to an already-record year of successful orbital launches for the Company. Rocket Lab remains on track to launch its first Electron mission from Virginia before the end of the year, on a mission for HawkEye360 that is scheduled to launch in December.
“Bringing a rocket back from space is a challenging task and capturing it mid-air with a helicopter is as complex as it sounds,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck. “The chances for success are much smaller than that of failure because many complex factors that must perfectly align. We are proud to have successfully recovered our fifth rocket from the ocean now and we look forward to another mid-air capture attempt in future as we work toward making Electron a reusable rocket.”
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