Rocket Lab announced that the next space launch to be held in mid-November will be a “dress rehearsal” of all the steps required to recover one of its rockets , except for the last phase which contemplates the rescue of the rocket before it hits the ocean. This test should allow Rocket Lab to rescue a rocket so it can be reused in a later mission.

Rocket Lab’s goal is similar to SpaceX’s , which recovers and reuses the first stage of its rockets: in this specific case, the New Zealand company wants to reuse its light launcher, called Electron , based on Rutherford engines with turbopump powered by lithium polymer batteries. Unlike SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets, which land on a platform or barge in the ocean, the way Rocket Lab intends to save the rocket is totally different.

After the Electron rocket has finished its main purpose, which is to carry its cargo into space, turns around and returns in a controlled way to the atmosphere . Rocket Lab compared the process to crossing a “wall”, as the rocket experiences intense heating and a build-up of gas and plasma that can easily destroy the onboard electronics.

In case Electron manages to pass this phase unscathed, opens a pilot parachute and a main parachute to slow down its run : at that point comes into play a helicopter that grabs the parachute, saving the rocket in midair first touch the ocean. This last step will not be tested in the next launch, but all previous steps will.

Rocket Lab predicts that the Electron rocket slow down from eight times the speed of sound to just 10 meters per second and then, after a controlled ditching, we will move on to recovery for a careful inspection. The new test is the most comprehensive to date: Electron returned twice in a controlled manner to the atmosphere, without taking damage. However, the two rockets crashed into the ocean and this complicated the inspection operations.

Rocket Lab also “caught on the fly” a fake rocket with one of its helicopters, causing it to fall from a high altitude, but at the moment the maneuver has never been attempted with a rocket that actually returned from Space. The company plans to carry out some parachute jumps before introducing helicopter recovery.

In addition to saving the rockets, in order to contain costs, the goal of Rocket Lab is to speed up the timing from launch to launch. The company, unlike SpaceX, focuses on sending small satellites to orbit the Earth, with costs starting at around $ 7.5 million per mission.