SpaceX competitor Rocket Lab launches first electron booster

Rocket lab follows in the footsteps of SpaceX by going to lengths dramatic enough to recycle its rockets. The start-up with facilities in the United States and New Zealand attempted to salvage the first-stage thruster from one of its Electron rockets for the first time on Thursday.

The rocket took off from New Zealand and propelled a number of small satellites – including a particularly special garden gnome – to orbit for the mission, correctly nicknamed Return to Sender. The first stage then split up to perform a controlled freshwater landing in the Pacific Ocean using parachutes.

The live stream of the mission was lost as the rocket descended back to Earth at high speed, but Rocket Lab confirmed via social media that the parachutes deployed successfully and the rocket splashed into the Pacific.

“The first step of Splashdown of Electron is confirmed! Salvage operations are underway and we will bring more to you soon,” the company wrote on Twitter.

The floating rocket will be picked up by a salvage ship, and Rocket Lab has promised us more photos soon.

Recovering a rocket using parachutes is not a new concept. This is something that NASA has pursued in the not too distant past. And it’s arguably not as dramatic as the propellant landing system that SpaceX uses, but it’s just a stepping stone to bigger plans that involve snatch a used electron booster in the air during his descent by helicopter.

“What we are trying to achieve with Electron is an incredibly difficult and complex challenge, but we are prepared to continue it to further increase the rate of launch and provide even more frequent launch opportunities for smaller satellite operators,” Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO, said in a statement.

Rocket Lab demonstrated an in-flight capture of a rocket scene simulation with a helicopter in April.

Ripping the booster out of the air prevents the possibility of damage from landing on water and floating in salt water for a period.

“Bringing an entire first stage back intact is the ultimate goal, but the success of this mission is really about getting more data, particularly on the drug and parachute deployment system,” Beck explained. “Regardless of what condition the scene returns to, we will learn a lot from this test and use it to repeat ahead for the next attempt.”

You can watch the full replay below – and every unique perspective contributes to charity within the first 24 hours.