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Rocket Lab recovers first stage booster via helicopter catch
- zlsa 4y agoThe stage was released by the pilot soon after capture: > Rocket Lab says the recovery helicopter “offloaded” the Electron first stage for splashdown after catching the booster over the Pacific Ocean. > The pilot noticed different load characteristics than experienced during previous testing, Rocket Lab said. https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/1521276084821581827 https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/152127608482158182...
- jffry 4y agoThat's a little bit of a bummer, but it's still incredible they managed to catch it. Hopefully they'll be able to refine their approach and get a solid catch next time!
- techdragon 4y agoAnd hopefully one of the refinements is they use a wider angle camera on the next one. It was pretty frustrating knowing the pilot is vectoring at a target they can see while i’m just staring at a wall of clouds until the last few seconds.
- agnosticmantis 4y agoLink to article (with YouTube video) for those without a Twitter account: https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/05/02/electron-there-and-back-again-mission-status-center/ https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/05/02/electron-there-and-bac... Edit: And direct link to YouTube: https://youtu.be/6nODVPGHQcc https://youtu.be/6nODVPGHQcc