The race for space turns into a competition to return the stages of launch vehicles. Last August, Rocket Lab joined pioneers in this field, SpaceX and Blue Origin. The beginner will not complicate the return system until the first stage has landed on the engines. Instead, the first stages of the Electron rocket are planned to either be picked up in the air from or lowered into the ocean. In both cases, a parachute will be used.
About a month ago, as Today, Rocket Lab, over the open ocean in New Zealand, even before the introduction of strict quarantine, passed a test to pick up a mock-up of the first stage of the Electron launch vehicle using a helicopter.
According to the plan, after delivering the payload into orbit, the first stage of Electron will re-enter the atmosphere and deploy a parachute for braking. This will allow either to gently land it in the ocean, from where it will be subsequently caught by the company's services, or to catch the descending first stage with a helicopter with a pick-up system while still in the air. In this case, launching appears to be a backup option, if for some reason the helicopter does not pick up.
In the process of carrying out tests to pick up in the air the model of the first stage of Electron, the company used two helicopters. One dropped the model, and the second, after opening the stage parachute, picked up the model with a specially designed hook. Pickup was carried out at an altitude of about one and a half kilometers. For an experienced pilot, apparently, the maneuver is not particularly difficult.
The next phase will be a soft landing test of the first stage into the ocean, which is expected later this year. Once the stage is out of the water, it will be sent to the company's assembly plant in New Zealand to assess the extent of damage and re-use the launch field.
Source: 3dnews.ru