Rocket Lab, an American aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider, is consider dropping its current strategy for recovering spent rockets by using helicopters. The dramatic and innovative technique of using helicopters to recover the rockets has been seen as a cost-effective way to reduce costs associated with launching payloads into space. However, the company is now rethinking this strategy as it does not believe the technology is viable for larger payloads.
The technique of using helicopters to collect fallen rockets from the sky has been in use since 2007, when it was pioneered by the amateur rocketry organization, waterford rocketry. The technique has since found its way into the aerospace industry, and Rocket Lab utilized it with the Electron launch vehicle. The technique involved an experienced helicopter pilot, who had to fly out towards the rocket’s deployed parachute and snare it with a rope and bag attached to the helicopter’s landing gear.
The remaining debris would then be safely collected and stored in the bag and brought back to the launch site. By tackling the recovery process with a helicopter, Rocket Lab was able to reduce the expensive costs and complications associated with retrieving large payloads from the sea. This was very advantageous in terms of cost since a stock aircraft ferrying and recovery cost $120,000 to $200,000.
Unfortunately, the cost savings of the helicopter retrieval missions may not be enough to offset their significant safety and technical risks. As Rocket Lab starts to move into bigger and riskier payloads and missions, the helicopter missions become less viable and more dangerous. Since the helicopters are required to fly very close to the rockets to catch them, it increases the risks of an accident occurring during the mission. Additionally, the air space around launch sites may not always accommodate helicopter flights.
Therefore, Rocket Lab has now expressed its interests in transitioning to more advanced recovery and disposal techniques such as terrestrial automated recovery systems and reusability of the vehicles. Currently, Rocket Lab is running tests with a system called Electron Return, which allows for a controlled landing and recovery of the spent rocket.
The new techniques are expected to be more economical, easier to execute and safer for all involved parties. Ultimately, the transition to more innovative, effective and safe technologies for rocket recovery may ultimately end up being more cost-efficient for the company. It will be interesting to watch how Rocket Lab moves forward with this, and if the technology is successful, it could herald a new era for space launches, making them more safe and cost-effective than ever before.
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