Rocket Lab Successfully Catches Electron Booster but then Drops It

A view of Electron from the helicopter | Credit: Rocket Lab

On Monday, May 2 at 6:49pm EDT (22:49 UTC), Rocket Lab launched the "There and Back Again" rideshare mission with 34 satellites atop an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1A at the Mahia peninsula in New Zealand. On this mission, Rocket Lab attempted to catch the Electron first stage with a helicopter for the first time. They were able to catch it, but shortly after, the pilot noticed unexpected loads not experienced during testing. Out of an abundance of caution, the booster was released and splashed down. It was successfully recovered by a stationed recovery vessel. This is the next step in Rocket Lab's goal to create the world's first reusable smallsat launcher. Rocket Lab previously splashed down three boosters. Rocket Lab have also been practicing catching mass simulators. This mission took payloads for multiple customers including Alba Orbital, Astrix Astronautics, Aurora Propulsion Technologies, E-Space, Spaceflight Inc., and Unseenlabs. This was the 46th orbital launch attempt of 2022, 26th Rocket Lab mission, and the 26th Electron launch.