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Rocket Lab taking ‘next step’ with Electron launch vehicle for reusable rocket
The Fly

Rocket Lab taking ‘next step’ with Electron launch vehicle for reusable rocket

Rocket Lab announced it is taking the next major step in evolving the Electron launch vehicle into a reusable rocket by launching a pre-flown Rutherford engine. The 3D printed engine, previously flown on the ‘There and Back Again’ mission launched in May 2022, has undergone extensive qualification and acceptance testing to certify it for re-flight, including multiple full mission duration hot fires where the pre-flown engine performed flawlessly and on par with a new Rutherford engine. With Rocket Lab’s propulsion team now giving the engine the green light for re-flight, it will be launched on an upcoming commercial mission scheduled for lift-off in the third quarter of this year. While the engine is ready for re-flight now, the Electron rockets scheduled for launch in the second quarter are already built with complete Rutherford powerpack assemblies so this pre-flown engine will join the production line to be integrated with an in-progress rocket. The engine is one of several recovered Rutherford engines that collectively have now been through many successful full duration hot fires to support testing and R&D efforts for recovery. The engine joins multiple systems that have been re-flown on Electron including helium press systems. Re-flying this engine is the latest milestone in an iterative and methodical reusability program that has seen Rocket Lab recover hardware and first stages from six Electron missions to date, with the latest stage recovered on 24 March 2023 following ‘The Beat Goes On’ mission launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.

Published first on TheFly

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