Rocket Lab just announced its next milestone in making its Electron rocket reusable. The company is returning a flown propellant tank to the standard production line. If all inspections give positive results, it could fly once again.
The first flight
The first stage has already flown in January 2024 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. During the “Four Of A Kind” mission it launched four satellites for monitoring space debris. Crucially, 17 minutes after lift-off the booster splashed down under a parachute in the Pacific Ocean. Teams then quickly recovered it from the water and brought it back to the company’s facilities.
The rocket has already passed several tests, more than any other Electron previously recovered. The stage underwent tank pressurization testing and ultrasonic carbon fiber inspection. All of the tests have confirmed the integrity of the tank’s carbon fiber structure. The stage has now returned to the standard production line. Acceptance testing will determine its ability to fly again, just as would happen with a brand-new vehicle.
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Moving towards reusability
Electron is a two-stage small-lift launch vehicle, with a payload capacity of 300 kg to Low Earth Orbit. It employs 9 Rutherford engines in the first stage, burning RP-1 and liquid oxygen, and one in the second stage. The rocket makes use of technologies such as carbon composites and 3D printing. An optional kick stage and several spacecraft buses are also available.
Rocket Lab has been working on reusing Electron for a while. Since the first recovery in November 2020, a total of 9 first stages have splashed down in the ocean. All of them used a parachute, and a helicopter unsuccessfully tried to catch two of them in mid-air. The rockets then underwent several tests, and one Rutherford engine successfully flew again on the “We Love The Nightlife” mission in August 2023.
“Our key priority in pushing this stage back into the standard production flow for the first time is to ensure our systems and qualification processes are fit for accepting pre-flown boosters at scale. If this stage successfully passes and is accepted for flight, we’ll consider opportunities for reflying it in the new year”, stated Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. However, no payload nor a precise launch date has been announced yet.
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