Bad weather is the main reason for the launch delay, rocket lab But the company is taking the time to do the final checks on its recovery system, officials said in an updated Electron missile reuse test. “After a busy week of pickup tests, and while we wait for the weather to improve, we are devoting an extra day to upgrading the recovery system and the last helicopter before the first air capture attempt,” Rocket Lab representatives wrote on Twitter. . The Liftoff is now targeting Monday during a nearly two-hour window that opens at 6:35 p.m. ET (2235 GMT). The upcoming Rocket Lab launch, called “There And Back Again”, will be the company’s first attempt to acquire the first stage of an in-flight electron amplifier as part of a plan to reuse the rockets and reduce launch costs. The plan envisions launching the first stage of the electron amplifier normally and after returning to Earth, optimizing its descent through “a series of complex maneuvers designed to allow it to withstand intense heat and return forces to the atmosphere.” said the company in a description of the shipment. The thermal shield will protect the nine Rutherford engines of the rocket, while a parachute slows down their fall so that it can be captured by a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter. Rocket Lab has recovered electron amplifiers from the ocean in the past and has been practicing in-air hunting for virtual rockets, but has not yet tried to catch an electron returning from space after a real launch. Unlike previous recovery missions, There And Back Again tries to avoid water falling into the ocean as the helicopter will return to the platform to land after being caught. wrote in the description. “Following the success of this recovery, Electron will be one step closer to being the first reusable small orbital satellite launcher.” Despite its ambitious nature, the electron recovery test is not the primary goal of the There And Back Again mission. Rocket Lab will launch 34 in-orbit satellites for various customers, including three demo satellites for the E-Space start-up and two sets of picosatellite satellites for the Internet of Things on a Spaceflight flight. , Inc. and AuroraSat-1, an experimental space debris satellite experimental created by Aurora Propulsion Technologies based in Finland. Email Tariq Malik [email protected] or follow the Embed Tweet. Follow us Tweet embedAnd Facebook and Instagram.
