Expanding the scope of studies 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 has time to spend years building rockets. This has seriously increased the importance of rockets that can be used repeatedly. The best work on this was done by SpaceX. But now, a new alternative to the systems SpaceX uses has been created.
A company called Rocket Lab has been in a feverish work for about 3 years. These studies were based on the idea that rockets could be reused. 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 was able to catch its mini rocket, which it called Electron, in the air with the help of helicopters.
Catching a rocket from space wasn’t as easy as it sounds
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 was no problem in the launch, and the Electron rocket was safely landed on the 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. However, even this saves a lot of time.
As a matter of fact, a demo was made in 2020 and Electron was tried to be caught by being released from a helicopter. The work done at that time was also successful. So the team actually knew what to expect. Still, it’s not hard 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 is the space mission
where a rocket falling from space was caught by helicopter
Note: Above is the space mission performed by Rocket Lab. You can watch all. If you want to view the moments when the rocket was captured, you can set the time bar of the video directly to 1:35:30.
You can watch the capture of the rocket released from a helicopter in the past years, below
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