Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck announced last year that the company would be attempting its own method of recovering a used booster. Instead of complex propulsive controlled landing of Falcon 9, the booster would descend safely under a parachute, and be intercepted and captured by a helicopter before splashdown.
Earlier this month, Beck said, “The ultimate goal here is to get it back in such a condition that we can put it back on the pad, get it back up, charge the batteries, and go again.” “If we can achieve that milestone, the economics certainly do change quite significantly.”
The two-stage Electron will carry 30 satellites to orbit for a wide range of customers—and the booster’s first stage will come back down to Earth for a controlled, parachute-aided ocean splashdown when its work in the upward direction is done.
According to spokesperson Morgan Bailey, Splashdown of the booster should occur just under 13 minutes after launch, and Rocket Lab plans to broadcast the moment.
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