May 022022
Rocket Lab launched an Electron space launcher today… and caught the booster with a helicopter. The recovery did not go to plan however; reportedly the dynamics of the helicopter/rocket system was unusual and the pilot of the helicopter released the rocket. It seems he must have done so from a low altitude, as the booster survived splashdown and is being recovered and returned.
As elegant as a SpaceX landing? Nope. Better than anything else out there? Yup. The more the merrier when it comes to recoverable rockets. I’m sure Rocket Lab will figure out the problem and work to correct it. That’s how *good* engineering is done. The payload was apparently successfully delivered to orbit.