The second company in the world after SpaceX , the American Rocket Lab, successfully preserved the first rocket stage after launch. The corresponding broadcast was conducted on YouTube.
“The Rescue Team is securing the first stage of Electron and is preparing to deliver it by ship to our production facility,” – reported Twitter company.
The launch of Electron with 30 small satellites took place from a cosmodrome in New Zealand. The first stage was flooded with a parachute.
In April, Rocket Lab for the first time successfully caught in the air using a helicopter a model the first stage of its Electron, dropped by another helicopter.
In January 2018, Rocket Lab, using the world’s only operational ultralight rocket, Electron, successfully launched payload.
The first launch of Electron, which took place in May 2017, became unsuccessful from – for incorrect data produced by the ground measurement system.
The Electron rocket was created using composite materials and 3D printing technology, which makes it possible to quickly produce and launch this medium. Rocket Lab plans to conduct up to 50 launches per year. The ultra-light two-stage Electron rocket is designed to launch a payload weighing up to 250 kilograms into low-earth orbit. The cost of launching a rocket does not exceed $ 6.6 million.