![\"Rocket](\"https:\/\/cdn.satnow.com\/news\/RocketLab_Cover_637981215845875971.PNG\")
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Rocket Lab USA, one of the leading launch and space systems companies, has successfully test-fired a reused Rutherford first stage engine for the first time a significant technical achievement in the company\u2019s efforts to make its Electron launch vehicle the world\u2019s first reusable orbital small rocket.<\/p>\n
Rocket Lab conducted the full duration, full-thrust test fire of the refurbished Rutherford engine earlier this week at the Company\u2019s engine test facility. The engine was previously successfully launched to space and returned to Earth during Rocket Lab\u2019s recent recovery mission, \u2018There And Back Again\u2019, launched on May 2, 2022. The mission was the first time Rocket Lab attempted a mid-air capture of Electron\u2019s first stage, using parachutes on the rocket to slow its descent from space before a helicopter plucked the rocket from the sky as it approached Earth\u2019s surface. The Electron stage was ultimately released for a soft ocean splashdown before it was collected by vessel and returned to Rocket Lab\u2019s production complex.<\/p>\n
The refurbished Rutherford engine passed all of the same rigorous acceptance tests Rocket Lab performs for every engine, including 200 seconds of engine fire and multiple restarts. Data from the test fire shows the engine produced a full thrust of 21kNs within 1000 milliseconds of ignition and performed to the same standard as a newly-built Rutherford engine. This Rutherford engine will now continue as an engine life leader for future Rutherford development.<\/p>\n
Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck says: \u201cWe\u2019ve always been at the forefront of innovation with Electron, having pushed the boundaries of many technologies including carbon composites, electric turbo-pumps, and 3D printed rocket engines. Now, we\u2019re leading the pack once again bringing reusability to small launch vehicles.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to refly Electron with minimal refurbishment is the ultimate goal, and so the fact that the recovered components on this engine performed on the test stand with a minimal rework is further validation that we\u2019re on the right path. If we can achieve this high level of performance from engine components recovered from the ocean, then I\u2019m optimistic and incredibly excited about what we can do when we bring back dry engines under a helicopter next time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Preparation for Rocket Lab\u2019s next recovery mission, which will include an attempt to catch Electron with a helicopter again but this time fly it back to land, is continuing at pace and is scheduled to launch before the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Click here to learn about the Neutron launch vehicle from Rocket Lab.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rocket Lab USA, one of the leading launch and space systems companies, has successfully test-fired a reused Rutherford first stage engine for the first time a significant technical achievement in the company\u2019s efforts to make its Electron launch vehicle the world\u2019s first reusable orbital small rocket. Rocket Lab conducted the full duration, full-thrust test fire […]<\/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":[25,58,20],"class_list":["post-9192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-launch","tag-launch-vehicle-engines","tag-satellite"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9192"}],"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=9192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9192\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}