Bring the rocket back to the shore.
On Tuesday, Rocket Lab, a small company with a small rocket, aims to pull off an impressive feat during its latest launch from the east coast of New Zealand. The company will use a helicopter to catch the used-up booster stage of the rocket before it crashes into the ocean.
If the booster is in good shape, Rocket Lab may reuse it for another launch, an achievement so far pulled off by only one company.
What you need to know is here.
The launch is scheduled to take place at 6:41 pm. The time is Eastern. You can watch the video on the Rocket Lab website or on the player embedded above. The stream will start about 20 minutes before the launch.
In the space launch industry, rockets used to be expensive single-use throwaways. Reducing the number of rockets that need to be manufactured could be done by using them.
Peter Beck, the chief executive of Rocket Lab, said in an interview on Friday that 80% of the cost of the whole rocket is in the first stage.
The first stages of the Falcon 9 rockets are flown over and over by the company. The second stages of the Falcon 9 and the Electron rocket are typically discarded when they reenter Earth's atmosphere. The next- generation rocket is to be completely re-usable. Competitors like Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance are also developing rockets that are partially re-usable.
NASA's space shuttles required extensive and expensive work after each flight, and they never lived up to their promise of airliner-like operations.
The booster will leave the second stage at an altitude of about 50 miles and speed up to 5,200 miles per hour on its descent.
Thermal protection will shield the booster from the high temperatures of 4,300 degrees Fahrenheit, and a system of thrusters that expel cold gas will orient the booster as it falls.
The atmosphere will act as a brake. The speed of the booster's fall will slow to under twice the speed of sound after 7 minutes, 40 seconds after liftoff. The drogue will add additional drag at that point. The booster is further slowed by a larger main parachute.
A helicopter hovering in the area at an altitude of 5,000 to 10,000 feet will meet the booster midair, dragging a line with a grappling hook across the line between the drogue and main parachutes.
After catching the booster, the helicopter is to take it to a Rocket Lab ship or back to land.
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