{"id":9084,"date":"2022-11-03T20:10:24","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T12:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-lab-to-attempt-next-mid-air-helicopter-rocket-catch\/"},"modified":"2022-11-03T20:10:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T12:10:24","slug":"rocket-lab-to-attempt-next-mid-air-helicopter-rocket-catch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-lab-to-attempt-next-mid-air-helicopter-rocket-catch\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab to Attempt Next Mid-Air Helicopter Rocket Catch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\" itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.satnow.com\/news\/RC_Cover_638030467877148106.jpg\" width=\"712\" height=\"377\" alt=\"Rocket Lab to Attempt Next Mid-Air Helicopter Rocket Catch\" class=\"imageload removeImageattr\" data-original=\"https:\/\/cdn.satnow.com\/news\/RC_Cover_638030467877148106.jpg\" style=\"\"><meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.satnow.com\/news\/RC_Cover_638030467877148106.jpg\"><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"712\"><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"377\"><\/p>\n<p>Rocket Lab USA, one of the leading launch and space systems companies, confirmed that it will attempt to catch an Electron rocket with a helicopter as it returns to Earth from space during the Company\u2019s next launch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Rocket Lab\u2019s 32<sup>nd<\/sup> Electron launch, the \u201cCatch Me If You Can\u201d mission, is scheduled to launch from Pad B at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 during a launch window opening on November 04, UTC. Electron will carry a science research satellite by space systems provider OHB Sweden for the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA). The Mesospheric Airglow\/Aerosol Tomography and Spectroscopy (MATS) satellite is the basis for the SNSA\u2019s science mission to investigate atmospheric waves and better understand how the upper layer of Earth\u2019s atmosphere interacts with wind and weather patterns closer to the ground. MATS was originally due to fly on a Russian launch service before the mission was manifested on Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCatch Me If You Can\u201d will see Rocket Lab attempt to capture the rocket\u2019s first stage mid-air with a helicopter as it returns from space. Using a modified Sikorsky S-92 helicopter to catch and secure the rocket by its parachute line, Rocket Lab will bring the captured stage back to its Auckland Production Complex to be processed and assessed by engineers and technicians for possible re-use.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This Electron recovery effort follows the catch of an Electron first stage during Rocket Lab\u2019s first helicopter recovery attempt on the \u201cThere And Back Again\u201d launch in May, and the recovery attempt for this mission will follow the same concept of operations as the previous launch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Rocket Lab CEO and founder, Peter Beck, says: \u201cOur first helicopter catch only a few months ago proved we can do what we set out to do with Electron, and we\u2019re eager to get the helicopter back out there and advance our rocket reusability even further by bringing back a dry stage for the first time.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cCatch Me If You Can\u201d launch details:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>Launch Window Opens: November 04, UTC<\/li>\n<li>Launch vehicle: Electron<\/li>\n<li>Customer: Swedish National Space Agency through OHB Sweden<\/li>\n<li>Launch site: Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Pad B<\/li>\n<li>Orbit: 585km circular Earth orbit<\/li>\n<li>Payload: MATS<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<strong>Recovery Mission Profile:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>Shortly before lift-off, the customized Sikorsky S-92 recovery helicopter will deploy to the capture zone at sea, approximately 160 nautical miles off New Zealand\u2019s Banks Peninsula.<\/li>\n<li>Once launched, Electron\u2019s first and second stages will separate at approximately T+2:32 minutes into the mission. The MATS payload will continue to orbit onboard the rocket\u2019s second stage while Electron\u2019s first stage descends back to Earth. At this point in the mission, Electron\u2019s return is expected to reach speeds of up to 8,300km (5,150 miles) per hour and temperatures of up to 2,400 degrees C (4,352 F).<\/li>\n<li>At approximately T+7:20 minutes after lift-off, Electron\u2019s first parachute will deploy followed shortly after by the rocket\u2019s main parachute. The double deployment of parachutes helps to slow the returning first stage to 0.4% of its top speed during descent: from 8,300km per hour to just 36km per hour.<\/li>\n<li>As Electron enters the capture zone, Rocket Lab\u2019s recovery helicopter will match the rocket\u2019s speed and descent from above, attempting to secure the trailing parachute engagement line to the helicopter via a hook at the end of a long line.<\/li>\n<li>Once captured and secured, Electron will be transported back to Rocket Lab\u2019s Auckland Production Complex. There, technicians will receive and prepare the stage for inspection to assess its suitability for re-use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rocket Lab USA, one of the leading launch and space systems companies, confirmed that it will attempt to catch an Electron rocket with a helicopter as it returns to Earth from space during the Company\u2019s next launch.&nbsp; Rocket Lab\u2019s 32nd Electron launch, the \u201cCatch Me If You Can\u201d mission, is scheduled to launch from Pad [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[25,54,20],"class_list":["post-9084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-launch","tag-launch-vehicle-platforms","tag-satellite"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9084"}],"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=9084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9084\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}