Supersonic ballet: In New Zealand, helicopter catches rocket free-falling from space

On Tuesday, Californian firm Rocket Lab’s rocket was launched; it sent 34 satellites into the orbit before the rocket’s main booster section began falling to the Earth

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Its descent was slowed to about 10 m (33 ft) per second by a parachute

A helicopter crew sprang into action, dangling a long line with a hook below the helicopter to snag the booster’s parachute lines

The crew caught the rocket, but the load on the helicopter exceeded the parameters from tests and simulations, so they jettisoned it again

But after briefly catching the rocket, the helicopter crew was quickly forced to let it go due to safety reasons

The rocket finally fell into the Pacific Ocean where it was collected by a waiting boat. ap

Great catch

The mission was a success. They got a great catch. Almost everything went as per plan. The unexpected load issue was a tiny detail which will be fixed soon. It’s nothing in the scheme of things. — Peter Beck, CEO, Rocket Lab