Catch Me if You Can: Rocket Lab Will Attempt Catching a Reusable Rocket Mid-Air Using a Helicopter

Elon Musk's SpaceX started the trend of recoverable rocket boosters that led several other companies to join the game. Companies from the industry have started making reusable rockets that descend back to Earth after sending off cargo into space. But Rocket Lab is doing it in a different way than its competitors who use ships to recover boosters.

The USA-based leading launch and space systems company confirmed that it will again attempt to catch an Electron rocket with a helicopter mid-air as it returns to Earth from space during its next launch. Will this mission be as successful as the first one?

(Photo : NOAH SEELAM/AFP via Getty Images)
Regional Executive India and South Asia of Sikorsky, A.J.S Walia poses beside a model of Sikorsky S-92 helicopter on display in an exhibitors venue at the India Aviation 2014 airshow at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad on March 14, 2014.

There and Back Again: Rocket Lab's First Rocket Recovery Mission Mid-Air

Rocket Lab has been preparing for the past few months for its 26th Electron rocket mission as it was the first time that they will be recovering a reusable rocket mid-air using a helicopter.

On May 2, the mission dubbed "There And Back Again" used a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter to snatch, mid-air, the booster of an Electron rocket that descended to Earth. The helicopter was able to catch it at an altitude of 173 miles (278 kilometers) from the ground by capturing it using its parachute line.

The rocket was launched from Pad A at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. The mission deployed 34 satellites to a Sun-synchronous orbit for six customers, including Alba Orbital, Astrix Astronautics, Aurora Propulsion Technologies, E-Space, Spaceflight Inc., and Unseenlabs that make a total number of 146 satellites.

The "There And Back Again" successfully returned the booster under parachutes using a helicop[ter for the first time, The success brings Electron closer to being the first reusable orbital small launcher. With the success of the first mission in May, they hope to replicate it this week during the "Catch Me If You Can" mission.

How Will They Perform the "Catch Me If You Can" Mission?

"We're 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," Slash Gear quoted Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck in a report.

He explained that the recovered Electron rocket stage will be transferred to the Auckland facility of Rocket Lab once it is recovered where engineers could check it for reusability. The second mission of recovering rockets using a helicopter is dubbed "Catch Me If You Can" which aims to deliver the Mesospheric Airglow/Aerosol Tomography and Spectroscopy (MATS) satellites on behalf of NASA.

The Electron rocket can deliver payloads weighing up to 330 pounds and can reach up to 310 miles. Its second-stage booster, which relied on a Rutherford Vacuum Engine for propulsion, will push the payload to space. Meanwhile, the reusable first-stage booster is powered by nine Rutherford Sea Level Engines in which each unit generates 5,600 LBF pound-force.

The second stage will separate from the first stage two minutes after take off as it continues its ascent to the orbit with the payload inside. Then the first stage will fall down with a speed of more than 5,150 miles per hour in which a helicopter will swoop in at the same speed to catch it mid-air.

The Sikorsky S-92 helicopter is a twin-engine helicopter capable of flying at 190 miles per hour even carrying heavy payloads. The catching part will be managed by a customized hook attached to the helicopter.