{"id":24446,"date":"2022-11-04T22:13:53","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T14:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-lab-launches-successfully-fails-mid-air-recovery-attempt\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T14:27:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:27:28","slug":"rocket-lab-launches-successfully-fails-mid-air-recovery-attempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-lab-launches-successfully-fails-mid-air-recovery-attempt\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab launches successfully, fails mid-air recovery attempt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Six months after its first first-stage recovery attempt, Rocket Lab tried its hand at booster recovery once again, with the launch of its 32nd mission, \u201cCatch Me If You Can.\u201d Liftoff took place on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, at 6:27 AM NZDT (17:27 UTC on Friday, Nov. 4).<\/p>\n<p>The California-based launch services company made its first attempt at first-stage recovery and reuse during its 26th mission, named \u201cThere And Back Again.\u201d On that mission, a successful mid-air catch via helicopter was made, though unexpected load characteristics necessitated a drop and an ocean recovery.<\/p>\n<p>On \u201cCatch Me If You Can,\u201d no mid-air catch was achieved due to a telemetry drop out during Stage 1 reentry.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cCatch Me If You Can\u201d mission utilized Rocket Lab\u2019s workhorse launch vehicle: the two-stage, partially reusable Electron. With 31 total flights since its debut in 2017 and a 90% rate of success, the Electron rocket serves as a leading example in the small satellite launch market.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Rocket Lab - Catch Me If You Can Launch\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PVTwEn9GdsA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The mission launched from Pad B (LC-1B) at Rocket Lab\u2019s Launch Complex 1, located on the M\u0101hia Peninsula in New Zealand. With Pad A just a short distance away from Pad B, the private spaceport can support simultaneous mission campaigns from the same site, thereby increasing the company\u2019s launch cadence.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"widget-title penci-border-arrow\">See Also<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cCatch Me If You Can\u201d Updates<\/li>\n<li>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle <\/li>\n<li>NSF Store<\/li>\n<li>L2 SpaceX Section<\/li>\n<li>Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cCatch Me If You Can\u201d marks the ninth launch of 2022 for Rocket Lab and the second mission geared towards stage reusability \u2014 the first being the previously mentioned \u201cThere and Back Again\u201d mission which launched on May 2.<\/p>\n<p>Recovery of the Electron rocket\u2019s first stage was a secondary goal for Saturday\u2019s mission, with the primary aim being the successful launch and deployment of a single science research satellite for Sweden.<\/p>\n<p>The Mesospheric Airglow\/Aerosol Tomography and Spectroscopy (MATS) spacecraft was developed by space systems provider OHB Sweden for the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA). The spacecraft is expected to study the upper layer of Earth\u2019s atmosphere and its interactions with wind and weather patterns from a 585 km Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).<\/p>\n<p>The satellite has a launch mass of approximately 50 kilograms and features two science instruments: a limb imager and a nadir imager that are designed to view the Earth\u2019s atmosphere in varied wavelength intervals. The MATS payload was originally expected to fly on a Russian launch vehicle before being reassigned to Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=TylerG1998&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=e30%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1587888521016389633&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2022%2F11%2Fcatch-me-if-you-can%2F&amp;sessionId=df41a1c3de3f84dae2de06cb73ab83947f8f429c&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1587888521016389633\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783496017360322657=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Payload integration complete with OHB Sweden &amp; @RymdstyrelsenSE for MATS! This Swedish national science mission is launching on Electron&#8217;s recovery mission Nov 04 UTC \u2013 more info. https:\/\/t.co\/Uc9nTRitaa pic.twitter.com\/dkfw9cbkwl<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) November 2, 2022<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Booster Recovery<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Rocket Lab divulged their recovery and reuse plans for Electron, which initially was not designed with such capabilities in mind. However, thanks to an increased understanding of vehicle performance and a need to meet launch demands, the company elected to pursue reusability for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets \u2014 which use retropropulsion to land themselves (either at sea on any of the company\u2019s three drone ships or back on land at designated Landing Zones if mission performance requirements allow) \u2014 Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron booster can be caught in mid-air using a helicopter while descending under a parachute.<\/p>\n<p>Work on implementing reuse began in earnest in the spring of 2019 with Electron flights six and seven (\u201cThat\u2019s a Funny Looking Cactus\u201d and \u201cMake It Rain\u201d), where both Electron rockets featured new instruments on the first stage to help gather data for future recovery attempts. Flight eight (\u201cLook Ma, No Hands\u201d) built on this with Brutus, an instrument designed to survive reentry and be retrieved after splashdown.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=TylerG1998&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=e30%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1587918514614317057&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2022%2F11%2Fcatch-me-if-you-can%2F&amp;sessionId=df41a1c3de3f84dae2de06cb73ab83947f8f429c&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1587918514614317057\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783496017360322657=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Catch Me If You Can? Challenge accepted. In two days&#8217; time, here&#8217;s how we&#8217;ll attempt to catch Electron with a helicopter as the rocket returns from space. <\/p>\n<p>More mission info: https:\/\/t.co\/Uc9nTRitaa pic.twitter.com\/XgPRl5x7r2<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) November 2, 2022<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Later, Rocket Lab introduced a block update for the Electron first stage as part of Flights 10 and 11 (\u201cRunning Out Of Fingers\u201d and \u201cBirds Of A Feather\u201d) in order to allow for guided reentry attempts. Upgrades included additional hardware for guidance and navigation, onboard flight computers, a reaction control system (RCS), and a new heat shield at the base of the vehicle. These new updates functioned as intended, helping the booster survive reentry despite the absence of deceleration hardware.<\/p>\n<p>Following Flight 11, in February 2020, Rocket Lab began conducting low-altitude parachute tests using an Electron test article. Mid-air retrieval was successfully demonstrated with one such test in March, where the test article was dropped and subsequently snagged by a helicopter with a long boom. Following the catch attempt, the test article was brought back to land.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2020, during Electron Flight 16 (\u201cReturn To Sender\u201d), Rocket Lab successfully recovered a first stage for the first time via a controlled water landing in the Pacific Ocean, using a set of parachutes to decelerate to a safe velocity. This ocean recovery method would be used on two later missions (Flight 20 \u201cRunning Out Of Toes\u201d and Flight 22 \u201cLove At First Insight,\u201d respectively).<\/p>\n<p>These efforts eventually culminated in the briefly successful mid-air booster recovery attempt which took place during the \u201cThere And Back Again\u201d mission on May 2, 2022. Shortly after the catch, the recovery helicopter pilot took notice of unexpected load characteristics and released the stage to ensure the safety of the recovery crew.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-89683\" class=\"wp-image-89683 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/BB1E7818-2152-469D-BF6A-D843D4661D25.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1662\" height=\"934\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/BB1E7818-2152-469D-BF6A-D843D4661D25.jpeg 1662w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/BB1E7818-2152-469D-BF6A-D843D4661D25-350x197.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/BB1E7818-2152-469D-BF6A-D843D4661D25-623x350.jpeg 623w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/BB1E7818-2152-469D-BF6A-D843D4661D25-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/BB1E7818-2152-469D-BF6A-D843D4661D25-1170x658.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1662px) 100vw, 1662px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-89683\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electron descends under parachute, waiting to be captured by helicopter during the \u201cThere And Back Again\u201d mission. Credit: Rocket Lab<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cCatch Me If You Can\u201d mission also featured an attempt at a mid-air recovery, with the help of a Rocket Lab-owned and customized Sikorsky S-92 two-engine helicopter. Shortly before liftoff, the craft and its three-person crew (pilot, co-pilot, and rocket spotter) deployed to the catch zone, located approximately 160 nautical miles off the coast of New Zealand.<\/p>\n<p>Launch and Recovery<\/p>\n<p>The 18-meter high and 1.2-meter wide Electron uses liquid kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants for its nine first-stage Rutherford engines and a single vacuum-optimized Rutherford engine on the second stage. Propellant loading begins several hours before launch. Following the completion of propellant loading, a pre-launch \u201cgo\/no-go\u201d poll is conducted at T-18 minutes. Electron and mission control teams will entered terminal count at T-10 minutes, with launch auto sequence beginning at T-2 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>At T0, Electron ignited the nine first-stage Rutherford engines at the bottom of the rocket and lifted off LC-1B. Electron reached maximum aerodynamic pressure (Max Q) at approximately T+1:20, and Electron\u2019s first and second stages separated at approximately T+2:32 minutes into flight at the completion of the first-stage burn.<\/p>\n<p>Electron then ignited the single vacuum-optimized Rutherford engine on the second stage and began the second stage portion of the ascent profile. The MATS payload continued to orbit with the second stage while the first stage began its descent.<\/p>\n<p>After reentering the atmosphere, at approximately T+7:20 minutes after liftoff, the Electron booster deployed a drogue parachute to stabilize and partially slow the vehicle. The main parachute then deployed approximately 50 seconds later to further reduce its velocity to ~10 meters per second.<\/p>\n<p>As Electron enters the capture zone, the helicopter crew shadows the booster from above, matching its speed and descent before moving in to capture the parachute engagement line via a hook on a boom. The catch attempt was to occur approximately T+18 minutes into the flight.<\/p>\n<p>Once captured and secured, Electron can be flown back to Rocket Lab\u2019s production facility in Auckland, where technicians will perform inspections and assess its suitability for reuse.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Recovered Rutherford Hot Fire\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zi53tCpsBW0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Second-stage engine cutoff occurs at T+9:11, with the separation of the Curie kick-stage engine occurring eight seconds later. At T+51:32, the Curie engine ignited for a one-and-a-half-minute burn before payload separation. MATS was deployed from the Curie kick-stage at T+1 hour.<\/p>\n<p>The pump-fed Rutherford engines on Electron\u2019s first stage have, so far, proven to be up to the task, as Rocket Lab has successfully fired a reused engine from the \u201cThere And Back Again\u201d mission. According to Rocket Lab, the engine produced full thrust and performed multiple restarts, passing the same acceptance tests that are conducted on each motor before launch.<\/p>\n<p>With the mid-air recovery method, Rocket Lab hopes to reduce the amount of work required for booster turnaround, leading to a more rapid cadence for reflights.<\/p>\n<p>A successful launch during Saturday\u2019s mission would continue to build on a stellar 2022 launch campaign for Rocket Lab, having compiled a 100% success rate on the year so far across eight flights, including the successful launch of the CAPSTONE lunar mission for NASA on June 28.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-3\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=TylerG1998&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-3&amp;features=e30%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1582862125864652801&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2022%2F11%2Fcatch-me-if-you-can%2F&amp;sessionId=df41a1c3de3f84dae2de06cb73ab83947f8f429c&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1582862125864652801\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783496017360322657=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Eastern Shore, meet Electron <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83e\udd1d\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/svg\/1f91d.svg\"><\/p>\n<p>After more than 30 missions from LC-1, it&#8217;s almost LC-2&#8217;s turn. Launching in December for our mission partner @hawkeye360. pic.twitter.com\/9aMKunP3GQ<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) October 19, 2022<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Another Electron mission is slated to launch before the end of the year, acting as the long-anticipated debut of Rocket Lab\u2019s first U.S.-based spaceport: Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) at NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The mission is expected to be a rideshare mission, featuring multiple customer payloads.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Lead photo: \u201cCatch Me If You Can\u201d lifts off from LC-1B. Credit: Rocket Lab)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Six months after its first first-stage recovery attempt, Rocket Lab tried its hand at booster recovery once again, with the launch of its 32nd mission, \u201cCatch Me If You Can.\u201d Liftoff took place on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, at 6:27 AM NZDT (17:27 UTC on Friday, Nov. 4). The California-based launch services company made its [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[545,311,544],"class_list":["post-24446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-electron","tag-reusability","tag-rocket-lab"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24446"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24446"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36242,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24446\/revisions\/36242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}