{"id":12096,"date":"2020-11-20T19:29:14","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T11:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-lab-recovers-booster-after-launch-with-30-small-satellites\/"},"modified":"2020-11-20T19:29:14","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T11:29:14","slug":"rocket-lab-recovers-booster-after-launch-with-30-small-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-lab-recovers-booster-after-launch-with-30-small-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab recovers booster after launch with 30 small satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: <\/strong>Updated at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) with image of booster.<\/p>\n

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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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rocket Lab says the first stage of its Electron launcher splashed down under parachute in the Pacific Ocean off New Zealand after firing into space with 30 small satellites Thursday, becoming only the second private company to return an orbital-class booster to Earth intact.<\/p>\n

Suspended under a circular parachute, the carbon composite booster stage descended to a splashdown a few hundred miles downrange from Rocket Lab\u2019s launch base in New Zealand, according to Rocket Lab.<\/p>\n

A recovery team stationed in the Pacific Ocean moved in to secure the booster before hoisting it onto a vessel for the journey back to New Zealand for inspections.<\/p>\n

The successful splashdown of the Electron\u2019s first stage moved California-based Rocket Lab closer to reusing rocket boosters, which the company says will allow it to launch missions at a faster cadence, and potentially cut costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the team achieved today in recovering Electron\u2019s first stage is no mean feat,\u201d said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab\u2019s founder and CEO, in a statement. \u201cIt took a monumental effort from many teams across Rocket Lab, and it\u2019s exciting to see that work pay off in a major step towards making Electron a reusable rocket.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab intends to eventually use a helicopter to snare rocket stages descending under parachutes in mid-air, eliminating contamination from sea water. But Beck said before the launch that Rocket Lab would initially try recovering Electron boosters from the sea.<\/p>\n

Designed to haul small satellites into orbit, the privately-developed Electron rocket has flown 16 times, including Thursday\u2019s mission. Late last year and early this year, Rocket Lab instrumented Electron boosters to study the heating, aerodynamic, and structural loads they encounter during re-entry.<\/p>\n

But this launch, which Rocket Lab nicknamed \u201cReturn to Sender\u201d in a nod to the recovery attempt, was the first time an Electron rocket flew with parachutes to attempt a full series of descent maneuvers.<\/p>\n

The mission began with a liftoff from Rocket Lab\u2019s private spaceport on Mahia Peninsula, located on the east coast of New Zealand\u2019s North Island, at 9:20:01 p.m. EST Thursday (0220:01 GMT; 3:20:01 p.m. New Zealand time Friday).<\/p>\n